I hesitated to post this one because I know most of you that see the title will not even read the article. You will say to yourself, “I can just buy that!” And you know what, I used to say the same thing. I totally understand! However, one cold Illinois winter day last year I decided to make a batch with my daughter because we were hard up for entertainment. I was honestly amazed at how easy it was, but what kept me making more was the fact that I liked the texture and smell of my homemade batch better than the store bought kind. I read multiple recipes and ended up combining what a few people suggested to make my own.
So here is what you need to make a batch:
- 1 cup of flour
- ⅓ cup of salt
- 2 tsp of cream of tartar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
Step 1: Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in pot.
Step 2: Add water with desired food coloring color mixed in and oil. (Some people say to add food coloring later, but if you add it to the water it mixes much more evenly!)
Step 3: Turn stove burner to medium/low and stir constantly. Within 2-3 minutes it will thicken and stick to your spoon like one big blob of play dough.
Step 4: You made it! Take it out to cool and once it doesn’t burn your hands to touch, knead it a little to make sure there are no lumps.
If you want to make a big batch of just one color you can double or triple the recipe. I have done this if I am having a party where multiple kids will be playing with it. However, I usually like these smaller batches because I will make multiple batches in different colors. This week we are learning about apples, so I wanted red, yellow, and green play dough. Once I had all the ingredients out and the pot dirty, I was able to make all 3 colors in about 15 minute!
Check back later to see some ideas for having fun with apples!