5 Popular Playdough Recipes

Playdough is a hallmark of childhood, largley because it’s so fun for kids to mush and squish around. The possibilities of what you can create with Playdough are endless, and kids have a blast rolling it around, squishing it up, and imprinting different toys into it. However it can also be tempting for little kids to eat due to its squishy consistency, which can make parents wary of buying it for their children. When you make your own Playdough, however, you know what is in it and the ingredients it’s comprised of and can rest assured that it won’t poison your child if they happen to put some in their mouth. There are many different recipes for Playdough, and each makes a different type of dough. Check out these 5 popular Playdough recipes and have hours of fun with your kids.

1. Make dough with a more rubbery feel. Mix together 2 cups of baking soda, 1 cup of corn starch, and 1 ½ cups of water with a fork in a saucepan. Boil this mixture over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Dump the mixture onto some wax paper or a plate and allow it to cool until you can handle it. Next, press and knead the dough until you like the texture. At this stage you can add a fragrance if you’d like, but keep in mind that if it smells good enough to eat it might entice your little ones to do just that. To color the dough add some food coloring and knead it until you are happy with the color.
2. Make all natural Playdough using plant juice for coloring. Take 1 cup of flour, ½ cup of salt, 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of oil, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar and add it to a saucepan. Make sure that you add the water slowly while mixing. Cook the mixture over medium heat until you reach your desired consistency. Dump out the dough mixture onto some waxed paper and allow it to cool until you can touch it. Now knead the dough until the texture is smooth. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Add a few drops of beet juice for pink dough, a few drops of carrot juice for orange dough, and a few drops of spinach juice for green dough.
3. Make nutty dough for those that love peanuts. No need to cook this dough. Just mix together 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of powdered milk, 1 cup of honey and 1 cup of oatmeal. Press the dough together with your hands. The kids can help mix up this one because it won’t be hot. Be careful not to allow kids younger than 12 months old to play with this dough, as it does contain honey. This dough is edible.
4. Make brightly colored, fruity dough. This recipe contains alum which most people may not have at home. Plan on making several batches of this Playdough in different flavors. Start by boiling 2 cups of water, and then add 1 packet of flavored drink mix to the boiling water. In the bowl of a stand mixer add 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of corn oil, ½ cup of salt, and 1 tablespoon of alum. Add the flavored hot water to the bowl and with the dough hook on, knead the dough until you get a smooth dough-like consistency. Depending on the humidity you may have to add up to an additional cup of flour to get the right consistency. If it seems sticky start adding flour a spoonful at a time and allow it to mix thoroughly before adding the next spoonful. This recipe makes really soft Playdough that will keep for a long time in a zippered storage bag.
5. Make Playdough in a bag with the kids. Start by giving the child a gallon-sized zippered storage bag. In it place 4 tablespoons of oil and food coloring. Gently mix those two ingredients. Next, add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water. Zip up the bag and smash the bag around until the dough is combined. If the dough seems too sticky add some more flour a ¼ cup at a time. If the dough seems too dry add a little bit more water. Once the dough has been thoroughly mixed the kids can pull it out of the bag and mix and match it with their friends. The dough will stay pliable for several weeks if kept in an air tight container.

Taken From Babysitting