Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (2024)

Home > Crafts for and with Kids > Gingerbread Christmas Salt Dough Recipe

ByCerys ParkerPublished on

Did you know that you can use spices in your salt dough recipe to give it a scent and colour?

Our favourite salt dough to make for Christmas decorations is to use the spices we use for our gingerbread men and houses. This colours the dough and once dry it still smells of gingerbread too.

So here we go our best Christmas gingerbread Salt Dough Recipe.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (1)

Go to Printable Step-by-Step Guide

What You'll Find on This Page

Gingerbread Salt Dough Ornament Recipe

Normally the recipe for salt dough only contains 3 ingredients – salt, flour and warm water.

But, by adding some ground spices you can transform it and take it to the next level.

Because the spices also add a little colour instead of fully painting the dried ornaments you could add finer details only with acrylic paints.

What I have found is that sometimes I need to add a little more water but add it gradually and only if the mixture is a little bit drier.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (2)

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Christmas Salt Dough Gingerbread Ingredients

  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup Salt
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Check out our Salt Dough Gingerbread Men Ornaments for how we made them brown when dry without needing to paint them fully!

How to Make Gingerbread Salt Dough

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (3)
  1. In a bowl add the salt, flour and spices and combine.
  2. Add the water (if you are colouring add this to the water now and mix) to the dried ingredients
  3. Stir till a dough is formed.
  4. Remove from the bowl and knead until smooth.
Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (4)

With the dough made you are now ready to create some scented Christmas decorations.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (5)

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Can you paint the Salt Dough Before Drying?

This is no as the dough is too soft and the colour will not take as well. Instead oven-dry the dough let cool and then paint afterwards.

You can also use the same spice mix with our quickest ever salt dough recipe and follow the instructions carefully in the post. This will reduce the drying time to 2 to 3 minutes it varies with your microwave.

It’s also possible to air dry these scented Christmas Tree Ornaments. Place them on the baking tray and then in a warm place. It will take a long time for them to dry – depending on the temperature it could be 2 days or more!

Ideas for Using this Gingerbread SAlt Dough Recipe

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Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (7)

We’ve used this recipe in 2 crafts so far –

  • Gingerbread man garland T at 3 years old threaded this to create a pattern and decoration for the house.
  • With a little extra we were able to make the gingerbread salt dough darker and retain the colour once dried. Then made Gingerbread Men Ornaments.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (8)

Gingerbread Salt Dough Recipe for Christmas Tree Ornaments

Cerys Parker

Simple Christmas salt dough recipe for making gingerbread scented ornaments for the Christmas Tree

5 from 1 vote

Print Instructions

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Activity Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Equipment Needed

  • Rolling Pin

Materials Needed

Instructions

Making the Dough

  • In a large mixing bowl add the salt, flour and spices and combine.

    Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (9)

  • Add the water (if you are colouring add this to the water now and mix) to the bowl.

  • Stir till a dough starts to form.

  • Knead on a surface for about 3 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Now use as you would your normal salt dough recipe.

    Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (10)

Keyword Christmas Crafts, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Ornaments, Salt Dough

Have you Made This?Let us know how it went!

More Christmas Salt Dough Recipes

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (11)

Not everyone likes the smell of gingerbread so a great alternative to use is our cinnamon salt dough recipe.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (12)

Author

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (13)

Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

Gingerbread Scented Salt Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make a salt dough gingerbread house? ›

Instructions
  1. Combine the flour, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl.
  2. Add in 3/4 cup of water and mix with to combine. ...
  3. Roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper with a rolling pin. ...
  4. Place the pieces on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to bake. ...
  5. Let cool and decorate with dimensional puff paint.
Dec 4, 2023

How long do gingerbread salt dough ornaments last? ›

Salt dough is very simple to make, basically just flour, salt and water, and when you bake it it becomes very hard and will last forever if you keep it dry and clean.

What is the ratio for salt dough? ›

The salt dough recipe

You want a ratio of one part salt and two parts flour. For making just a few little salt dough creations with your kids, one cup salt and two cups flour should be enough. If you want to prepare more, just increase the number of cups proportionally.

Can you add scent to salt dough ornaments? ›

In the recipe above, I added a couple of 'bells and whistles' to the recipe to make a smoother dough but the oil and glycerin are optional. These ornaments last for years. They are fun, easy, and inexpensive to make. You can even add scent, colors, glitter, paint, and beads if you like.

How to make a gingerbread house step by step? ›

  1. Step 1: Prepare the Patterns. When making a gingerbread house, the most important step is building a strong, sturdy base—and the best way to do that is with a balanced structure. ...
  2. Step 2: Make the Dough. ...
  3. Step 3: Cut Out Shapes. ...
  4. Step 4: Make the Icing. ...
  5. Step 5: Assemble the Base. ...
  6. Step 6: Attach the Roof. ...
  7. Step 7: Decorate.
Nov 26, 2018

What do you seal salt dough with? ›

Mod Podge.

It's important to seal your ornaments once they're dried, so that they don't absorb moisture from the air. Use Mod Podge (in matte) to seal the dough and give them a more finished look.

How do you know when salt dough ornaments are done? ›

Baking Salt Dough Ornaments

They are done when they are completely hard. If they start to brown then they are well done – and that's okay! Once completely hard take them out of the oven and let them cool completly.

Can gingerbread dough go bad? ›

It's not that the dough “goes bad”. The ingredients can be stored for a long time. But depending on the recipe, some doughs dry out too much to be used. Most cookie doughs can be frozen.

Is it better to bake or air dry salt dough? ›

The great thing about it is that the salt dough sculptures will harden if you leave them out to dry at room temperature. Depending on the size of the pieces, it will take 2 to 7 days to dry completely. Turn the pieces from time to time for faster drying. Oven dry the salt dough pieces.

What happens if I put too much salt in my dough? ›

If the percentage of salt added to a dough becomes too high, excessive dehydration will eventually kill the yeast and bacteria. Most scientists believe that at 2% of the flour weight or less, salt alone does not significantly alter either the yeast's gassing power or the bacteria's acid production.

Can you overcook salt dough? ›

If you overcook them, they tend to bubble up. As everyone's dough will be mixed differently and microwaves have different levels of power, please keep an eye on your creations when they are cooking. Take them out to check their dryness – CAREFUL - THEY WILL BE HOT!

Do Sharpies work on salt dough? ›

Before baking the ornaments, press rubber stamps into the dough with holiday greetings, the year or even the names of loved ones. If you like to pay attention to every little detail, a fine-point marker is the perfect tool for the job (we like to use Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers).

Can you put essential oils in salt dough? ›

Mix together flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in water and drops of essential oil - combine until smooth. Use some extra flour to lightly dust countertop. Roll out dough until it's around ¼ inch thick.

What are the ingredients to salt dough? ›

To make this recipe, you'll need:
  1. table salt.
  2. all-purpose flour.
  3. water.
Nov 18, 2019

How do you stick salt dough together? ›

Hot glue: Hot glue can be used to quickly and securely attach salt dough pieces, but it may not be the best option for projects that will be exposed to high temperatures or moisture. Epoxy glue: Epoxy glue is a strong adhesive that can be used for salt dough crafts that need to be especially durable or water-

References

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