Is your kiddo going late winter cabin fever stir-crazy these days? Time to make some play dough! Ten minutes and six basic ingredients is all you need. Seriously, this is so amazingly simple to do! And your child will THANK YOU (or at least make super adorable faces at the dough, which seems like thanks to me)!
Lilly loves “doing dough.” Set her up with her play dough, a rolling pin and some cookie cutters and she’s endlessly entertained. Ok, maybe not endlessly, but for a solid thirty minutes at least. That’s a win in my book!
And just look at these colors!!! I think the colors are far more vivid and bright than store bought play dough. And the dough has such a nice smooth texture. I can understand why kids enjoy playing with it so much…kneading this stuff is an incredible stress reliever!
This dough will stay “fresh” for quite a while as long as you keep it in an airtight container between play sessions. And if the dough starts to get kind of funky (or you need to ditch it after exposure to cold germs), it’s easy and cheap to make up a new batch.
So what are you waiting for — just DOUGH it!
Homemade Play Dough
Makes 1 ball of dough
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Food coloring of your choice
Combine flour, cream of tartar and salt in a small saucepan. Turn on heat to medium and add water and oil and stir vigorously. Immediately add drops of food coloring until desired shade is reached (vivid colors will require 12 or more drops of food coloring).
Continue stirring over medium heat as dough thickens and comes together into a ball. Turn dough out onto a work surface and (carefully, dough is hot), knead until completely smooth and the color is evenly distributed. Make several batches for multiple colors.
Once cool enough for your child to touch, it is ready for play. When not in use, store dough in an airtight container.
