How to Make Salt Dough Pumpkin Decorations
Pumpkin spice salt dough pumpkins made from pantry staples. Full recipe and tutorial below, including a video tutorial.
It's always a good day when baking doesn't include calories lol! Instead,
these salt dough pumpkins can be added to your Fall decorations, and they will
last for years! Simple to make, this is a fun project to do with kids. Check
out my recipe and instructions, as well as a short and sweet video tutorial
below.
How to Make Salt Dough Pumpkins
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Unless you live under a rock, you've heard of salt dough ornaments! This idea
has been around for decades. In fact, I remember back in the 80's when one of
my aunts made salt dough magnets for the rest of the aunts. If I'm remembering
correctly, they were all always trying to lose weight. The little pig magnets
had a sign that said, "once on the lips, forever on the hips". So funny,
right?
I've made a few varieties of salt dough decorations in the past, including
these sweet vintage style rabbits
from
cookie molds, and
these cinnamon salt dough men, turned into a Christmas garland.
This year I wanted to try making pumpkins. Not cookie cut outs or ornaments,
but actually little 3D pumpkins. I'm pleased to say they were incredibly easy
to make, and the addition of pumpkin pie spice means they smell so good too!
Watch the video here
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup regular table salt
- 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4-1 cup coffee, cooled (I used instant coffee crystals dissolved in water)*
- cinnamon sticks (this is a great price and will ensure you have enough for Christmas too!)
- kitchen twine
- vegetable oil
- optional - pumpkin spice essential oil
*the coffee adds a darker color to the dough, you can use regular tap water
if you want your pumpkins to be lighter in color (more like gingerbread)
Steps to making pumpkins
You will mix the dough similar to cookie dough. Dry ingredients are whisked
together, then the liquid is added. I needed more coffee because my dough was
too dry. You could have the opposite problem, with dough that's too wet. In
that case, simply add a little more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, until dough comes
together into a ball.
Next, decide how many pumpkins you want to make. I got three pumpkins from
this recipe. I rolled the dough into a log, and divided it into three equal
pieces.
Roll each ball of dough until it is perfectly smooth.
Now, take a piece of kitchen twine, wrap it around the soft pumpkin and gently
squeeze to shape the pumpkin segments. Tip: watch the video to see exactly how this is done! Insert a cinnamon stick a 1/4" or so in
the middle and give it a little wiggle to create an indentation. Remove the
cinnamon stick and place pumpkins on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet.
Once pumpkins are hard to the touch, remove from oven and let cool. Don't be
surprised if they turn white, that's just the salt rising to the surface.
Use a little vegetable oil or
pumpkin pie essential oil
on a paper towel and rub over the salt dough pumpkins to restore that rich
brown color. This can be repeated whenever the salt dough loses its color,
year after year!
Attach the cinnamon stick stems with a little hot glue and your salt dough
pumpkins are ready to be displayed!
I filled a dough bowl with all the pumpkins I made this year, including my
fuzzy sock painted pumpkins and a few
pumpkins made from vintage chenille.
I really love how these salt dough pumpkins turned out! Their warm color is so
perfect for fall. You could double or even triple the batch and make enough to
use on your Thanksgiving table! Tie a little stamped card with the names of
your guests and they can go home with them. Or add a few to a small basket
with a cute fall tea towel and give as a hostess gift! There are so many
ideas!
I would love to know if you make salt dough pumpkins, drop me a comment if you
do!
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