Homemade Play Dough

With four kids, I've tried a lot of different homemade play dough recipes. My all time favorite is one I found years ago on the Counting Coconuts blog. The recipe makes a soft dough that has a much nicer texture than name brand stuff. You can make any colors you want and even add scents. It's so easy to make too!

Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients:
-1 cup Flour
-1/2 cup Salt
-1 tablespoon Cream of Tartar or lemon juice
-1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
-1 cup Water
-food coloring, glitter, extracts (optional)


Directions:
1. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine.

2. Pour the mixture into a cooking pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the contents form a ball.

3. The dough is ready when the mixture pulls away from the pot and when the wet parts begin to look dry.

4. Turn the dough onto a cutting board or countertop and knead until smooth. Use caution! It will be hot!

The original recipe says to add food coloring, glitter, extracts, etc. AFTER the dough has cooled. She advises that the color and scents won't "take" as well when the dough is hot/very warm. I like to half the recipe and add the food coloring while the ingredients are in the pot because the colors blend better. I then add the glitter and/or scents after the dough has cooled.

Store dough in a Ziploc container or bag in the refrigerator. It will last months! It's time to throw away the dough when it starts to look dry and crusty or when it gets very sticky and gooey. What you want it a nice, smooth, elastic consistency.

For more play dough fun, scroll through and check out the play dough themes at the Counting Coconuts website!