Homemade Playdough

Today I had planned to make "Fun Fun" (edible playdough) for Grace to play with, but we are running low on peanut butter.  So after searching the internet for a few minutes, I decided to try a different recipe. 

Grace was very excited to help make the playdough.  She loves working in the kitchen with me.

First, we measured 2 cups of all-purpose flour and poured it into a pot.

Then we added 1 cup of salt.

1 tablespoon of cream of tartar.

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

And finally 2 cups of water.

And then we stirred it over low heat until it formed a ball, aka, playdough!

 At first, it looked like a thick soup.

But after about 4-5 minutes it started to look more like mashed potatoes - lumps and all.

After another 2-3 minutes it began to form a big ball.  Then it was ready to take off the stove.

We dumped it onto a silicone mat for kneading.

And I worked that dough for about 1 minute until it felt like traditional Play-doh.

Then I separated our dough into 4 pieces.

And I added some food coloring and then kneaded it all in.  Warning:  Food coloring will stain your hands!  My hands are now blue with little red and green splotches.  Once the food color is worked into the dough, though, you don't have to worry about it staining countertops or little hands.

Voila!  Our playdough is ready to play with!  It actually feels (and tastes - yes I tasted it.  It's very salty and I wouldn't recommend snacking on it.) just like the real Play-doh!  According to the recipe, it should keep indefinitely in air tight containers.  No refrigeration required.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2 cups of flour

1 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of cream of tartar

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 cups of warm water

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized pot over low heat.  Stir until dough works itself into a ball.  Turn dough onto countertops (or a silicone mat).  Knead until silky.  Add food coloring as desired and work in to prevent staining.  Total time in the kitchen:  roughly 10 minutes.

Happy playing!