Salt-dough Ornaments

³₄ to 1 cup water, room temperature 1 cup iodized salt 2 cups flour

Mixed leaves, berries or greenery Cookie cutters Drinking straw

1. PREHEAT OVEN to 200°. With a spoon, mix ³/4 cup water, salt and flour until the dough is fairly stiff and not too wet, adding more water as needed. 2. LIGHTLY FLOUR A SURFACE. Knead dough by hand, adding more flour as needed, about 5 minutes. Dough should leave an indentation when pressed with a finger. 3. FORM DOUGH into a disk; cover until ready to use. 4. FLOUR A SHEET OF WAXED

PAPER; place dough on paper. Flour the top of dough and place a second sheet of waxed paper on top. Roll out the dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Remove top sheet of waxed paper.

5. MAKE A PATTERN with leaves, berries or greenery by firmly

pressing into dough. For leaves, use the underside.

6. USE COOKIE CUTTERS as desired to cut shapes out of the dough, removing the excess. Make a hole at the top of each ornament by pressing a drinking straw into the dough; lift the straw out, removing the dough to form a hole. 7. PLACE THE ORNAMENTS on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until they are hard and dried out, 2-3 hours or more. (High humidity may require more baking time.) Remove to a cooling rack and allow to dry completely. 8. STRING A RIBBON or decorative twine through the hole; knot the ribbon or twine.