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DIY Suet Ornaments for Your Feathered Friends

Feed the birds and decorate a tree with suet ornaments! These cookie cutter ornaments are a creative and fun way to serve up nutritious treats to your backyard birds and help sustain them through the cold, winter months.
Prep Time30 minutes
chill time: 2 hours2 hours
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 12 (3-inch) cookie cutter ornaments

Equipment

  • cookie cutters
  • twine or ribbon

Materials

  • 1 cup lard
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 cups cornmeal
  • Optional add ins: bird seed, raisins, oats, unsalted peanuts

Instructions

  • Tie some twine or ribbon onto your cookie cutters before filling them with your suet ingredients and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper for easy clean up.
  • Melt lard and peanut butter together in a pan over low heat. Stir in dry ingredients.
  • Add additional mix-ins, bird seed, etc. until texture holds it shape like cookie dough.
  • Place into cookie cutters using a spoon (or your fingers).
  • Use an offset spatula to level the suet mixture once the cookie cutter is filled.
  • Refrigerate suet treats until firm or overnight and hang on a tree for your feathered friends.

Notes

Note: Don’t substitute bacon drippings for lard in your suet recipe. The chemical preservatives in commercial bacon become more concentrated when cooked and can be harmful to birds.
  • Use any shape cookie cutter for your winter suet treats.
    Birds can dine from either side of the cookie cutters and you can refill them with a fresh mixture when it's gone.
  • Alternatively, spread suet mixture into a pan, refrigerate and cut into squares to fill suet cages.
  • We typically see chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, tits and other small clinging birds as well as woodpeckers (both Hairy and Downy) visit our suet feeders. The exact birds that will feed on suet depend on the birds' range in your area and what other foods are available, both at feeders and naturally.