Since I make a lot of dough ornies and primitive pantry cakes, I thought I would share my Primitive Dough Recipe with you. I've seen lots of dough recipes over the years, and there are lots of similar ones, and lots of different ones too. This one is the result of lots of variations and experimentation. These are the types of things you can make with this recipe...though you are only limited by your imagination!
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup of Shortening
- 3/4 Cup of Sugar
- 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Molasses
- 3 Cups of Flour
- 1 TBSP Cinnamon
- 1/2 TSP Salt
- 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of Water (more or less)
- Cream together the Shortening and the Sugars in a large mixing bowl until mixed well.
- Stir in the Molasses, again until mixed well.
- In separate bowl, combine the Flour, Cinnamon, and Salt and stir to combine.
- Begin to alternately add your dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add the flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the water at a time until ingredients are mixed and you have formed a good dough. At some point, it's best to just get your hands in there and start mixing, as it will quickly become a challenge to stir with a spoon! You may need to add a little more water or flour to get your dough to the correct consistency. You want to be able to touch the dough with your finger and have it not stick to it. So when that happens, it's ready.
- Shape your dough into a large ball. Cover it with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
If you plan to be using your dough for cut-out ornies (using cookie cutters, etc), what I like to do is sprinkle my counter with cinnamon. This helps the dough to not stick, but it also adds extra cinnamon to the outer layer of the dough, which I like. But this is totally optional. I also suggest you buy your cinnamon in large bulk containers; it's much cheaper that way...and get the cheapest cinnamon you can find. No sense spending a lot of money on something you aren't going to eat!
For cut-outs and small ornies (like the cinnamon bun ornies), bake these at 350° for for 15-20 minutes. It may be more or less, depending on your own oven. They will harden quite a bit while cooling. Just be sure they're cooked through and let them cool completely.
For larger items like pantry cakes or very large cinnamon buns (I've done full size ones on occasion), I usually bake them at 325° for 20-30 minutes, again, oven times will vary, and the thickness of your item will be a big factor too.
And if you're going to dip your ornies or other baked dough items in wax, just make sure they are cooled completely before doing so.
