The best homemade playdough

Making playdough is a fun activity you can do with your children and the resulting product can give them hours of creative playtime. My recipe for the best homemade playdough comes from my son’s preschool classroom many years ago. We have been making this recipe for years. It produces a large batch of soft, pliable playdough that lasts and lasts. Best of all, it’s made from all natural food ingredients.

I really believe in old-fashioned fun and getting kids away from screens and using their hands to play and create. You don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients to create the best homemade playdough. It takes only about 10 minutes to make, including cleanup.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup table salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar (we usually purchase ours from the bulk food store)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp oil
• A few drops food colouring (any kind)

Directions

• In a medium-sized pot, mix the flour, salt, and cream of tartar together.
• In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure 1 cup water, then add the oil and food colouring to the water.
• Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon to eliminate most of the lumps.
• Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes or until the ingredients stick together and form a ball.
• Place the ball on the counter once it is cool enough to handle and knead for 1 minute until soft and pliable.
• If you want to make two different colours from this one batch, then use paste food colouring and mix with completed dough after dividing into pieces (do not add colouring to water mixture).
• The playdough can be stored in a plastic sandwich bag or in a plastic Tupperware-style container.

Variations

For a fruity smelling playdough, use a small package of sugar-free Kool-Aid. Simply omit the food colouring and add the Kool-Aid to the water before adding to the dry ingredients.

Add sparkles or glitter to the playdough, adding the sparkles to the dry ingredients before mixing. Be aware that this makes the playdough unsafe to eat, so avoid this option if your children are very young or tend to put everything in their mouths.

Playtime

The best playdough tools and accessories are things you probably already have in your home. From the kitchen, grab a rolling pin, dull knife, fork, and cookie cutters. From the playroom, gather toy dishes, and small hard toys that can be easily washed. And check out the craft cupboard for popsicle sticks, yarn, and stamps (without the ink). My boys can play for hours with new playdough and treasures from around the house.

I hope you will try out my recipe for the best homemade playdough. Enjoy your family time with your precious little ones!

For another fun family activity, check out my post Easy Giant Cookie Recipe.