How to Make Chocolate Scented Salt Dough Recipe

Learn how to make chocolate scented salt dough ornaments recipe for the best old fashioned homemade craft creations. These primitive homemade gingerbread man are the perfect ideas for kids and adults.

The holidays are a time of gathering together, spending time watching Christmas movies, a time for decorating and creating. We love creating during with winter season, from making air dry clay star ornaments to handmade clay tags, we love a homemade holiday.

If you are looking for the perfect homemade holiday craft for adults or children, these scented salt dough ornaments are a great activity to get in the holiday spirit.

These fun vintage primitive gingerbread man ornaments will take you back to the old fashioned holiday feel. They are so easy to make, and involve just four basic ingredients plus some spices!

Chocolate Scented Salt Dough Recipe for Ornaments

One of our family favorite activities for kids and adults in our home is homemade salt dough. Several years ago, we made Christmas Scented Salt Dough, and we have made them every year since then.

This year, we decided to get a bit more creative and make a chocolate scented version that smells just as wonderful! This recipe will definitely not disappoint.

Primitive Gingerbread Man Salt Dough Ornaments

Chocolate scented salt dough ornaments can be cut into any shape, handprints, or any other sculptures. I love the look of primitive gingerbread man ornaments and decided to make these for the recipe.

Ingredients to Make Old Fashioned Salt Dough Ornaments

The ingredients that you need to make these scented salt dough ornaments are probably already in your pantry. Just several simple ingredients is all you need to make these lovely gingerbread man ornaments.

• Flour: for this recipe, I used all purpose generic flour.
• Salt: use the cheapest table salt that you can find. Salt is the preservative in this recipe, while any salt will work, cheap is the way to go.
• Cocoa: I used the off brand cheapest cocoa I could find.
• Water:
• Spices: You can use just about anything that makes you think of the winter season. We have used pumpkin pie spice, as well as a mixture of cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• Whole Allspice: Use this to create the little nose and buttons on the front of the gingerbread.
• Coconut Oil: This is what we used to make the ornaments turn from a dull dry brown after baking to a beautiful solid brown color.
• Essential Oils: Just like my original salt dough recipe, essential oils could be used in this recipe as well. Just add a few drops to make the dough smell amazing!

Tools You May Need to Make Old Fashioned Salt Dough Ornaments

More than likely you will already have everything that you need in your home to make these chocolate scented salt dough ornaments. Here is a list of what we used:

• Mixing bowl
• Large wooden cutting board
• Large mixing spoon
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutter
• Straw or something to make the hole for hanging the ornaments
• Baking Sheet – I love using my stoneware
• Ribbon or Twine for hanging ornaments – I used hemp twine
• Homespun fabric for creating the scarf around the gingerbread mans neck – I love this collection and often use it for a wide variety of projects and decor around our home.

How do You Make Chocolate Scented Salt Dough

1. Use a large mixing bowl to combine flour, salt and cocoa. Add spices and mix well.
2. Slowly start adding water and mixing. Once you can no longer stir with the spoon, use your hands to mix the dough.
3. Continue adding water until the dough has the consistency of playdough. It shouldn’t be sticky but if it is, add a little more cocoa and continue to mix with your hands.
4. Knead the dough until is smooth and has the look of playdough. This is a great activity for the children to do as they love playing with the dough.
5. Once the dough is smooth and shiny, it is ready to roll and cut it out to make salt dough ornaments.

How to Roll and Cut Salt Dough Ornaments for Crafts and Ideas

1. Grab a large cutting board or you can use your kitchen counter.
2. Lightly dust the cutting board or counter with cocoa.
3. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to 1/8 of an inch thick but no thicker than 1/4 of an inch.
4. Using cookie cutters, cut into the dough, remove the excess dough. Then, very carefully place the cut pieces onto a baking sheet.
5. Take a drinking straw, and poke a hole in the top of each ornament for twine or ribbon to hang from.
6. Take whole allspice and push into the dough to create the eyes and buttons if doing the gingerbread man.

How to Bake Chocolate Salt Dough

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven.
2. Bake the salt dough ornaments for 30 minutes and then flip the ornaments over to bake another 30 minutes.
3. Ornaments are done when they feel hard and have the dry dull look to them.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool before adding scarf and twine for hanging.
5. To make the scarf, cut long narrow pieces of homespun fabric. Then, tie around the gingerbread mans neck area.

How to Make Chocolate Salt Dough Ornaments Shiny

Once the salt dough ornaments are removed from the oven, they will look dry and dull. If this is the look you are going for, there is no need to do anything else.

To make the chocolate scented salt dough gingerbread ornaments shiny, carefully brush them with a very small amount of melted coconut oil. Allow the coconut oil to dry or gently blot dry with a towel.

How to Preserve Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt is the key ingredient for preserving salt dough ornaments. Without the salt, these ornaments would never last.

To help preserve your dried ornaments, you can coat each side with a layer of Mod Podge or spray with a sealer. Either will work well, and if you choose to do this, you can skip using the coconut oil to make them shiny.

How Long do Salt Dough Ornaments Last

If you preserve your ornaments properly, they can last for years. To store salt dough ornaments from year to year, gently wrap in bubble wrap and store in a container.

Printable Salt Dough Recipe

Learning how to make chocolate scented salt dough ornaments recipe is so easy and I hope that it inspires you to make some. String them up with some pretty ribbon or twine for a garland, or hang on your Christmas tree. They also make wonderful little stocking stuffers and look pretty tied on top of packages.

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