Play- Doh!
Recipe Cook Off
Recipe Cook Off

I am very talented at messing up homemade play dough so I never make it. If you have a great recipe leave me a comment and I might consider trying one last time. We had a blast rolling, and making balls and generally just creating today!
Have a fun Free Art Friday .
** The cook off is on ! I have 10 different recipes , I’ll cook them all up at nap time and have my little man test them over the weekend. Thanks for everyone who submitted theirs. Come back Monday to see the results of all the recipes and find out the winner **
Amber, That's Me! says
Here are some good ideas on my friend Laura’s blog. I usually just stick with the store kind, I love it! But, she really likes to make her own and jazz it up!
http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2008/10/homemade-playdo.html
Allie says
Thanks Amber , I’ll go have a look!
ScottChrisCoriCassiCali says
1 c. flour
1 c. water
1/2 c. salt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. cream of tarter
1 envelope Kool-aid-no sugar
Mix all ingredients together and cook over medium heat until a ball forms.
We also add glitter occasionally. We love this recipe. It is easy and never fails. Just be sure to keep stirring, don’t walk a way for a second. It cooks up quick!
Artistmama says
We came across an odd way of making play dough by baking together. I always have Masa flour on hand- a type of corn meal/ flour. Every time I baked, I’d give him some masa flour and some water and let him mix it. It makes a really good play dough, a little sticky but we like it. Edible too, my son likes it for some reason. ick.
Allie says
That is the exact recipe I flub up !
I think I do it on purpose because I love the smell of the real stuff, hehe!
I promise I will try all of these and report back though !
Tonya says
I absolutely LOVE your blog! I have been telling everybody about it!
How old is your son? I was wondering how close in age our kids are? My daughter is two, she’ll be three in June.
I haven’t made homemade play doh in years, I love the smell of store bought too!
Thanks for the inspiration! I am always trying to find new ways to teach her things and your blog is exactly what I needed!
scraps_n_stuff says
I have used this one a lot and like it. I had one at a center I used to work at but I can’t find the recipe now. 🙁
Play Dough
1C flour
1C water
1/2C salt
2tsp cream of tartar
1Tbl cooking oil
food coloring
spices (optional, i like to add pumpkin in the fall etc.)
>mix all ingredients
>microwave on high for 1 minute
>stir
>microwave on high for 30 seconds
>continue until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and no longer soupy
>knead until smooth
I usually cook for 1 minute at a time instead of 30 seconds. My microwave takes about 3 minutes total cooking time, but each microwave will vary. I would follow the 30 seconds the first time to get the feel of your own microwave.
I really like this recipe because my daughter can help poor everything into the bowl and stir with me. She loves picking the color too.
Store the play dough in a ziplock bag. At the centers I would keep the play dough in the bag inside the fridge it seemed to last longer with children playing with it everyday. Now that it is just my one daughter it doesn't come out every day and seems to last just fine in our cabinet for months. I usually toss it before it dries out because I just want to make some more!
Have fun!!!
Allie says
Woo Hoo I am going to drive my husband nuts making playdough , I think I’ll have my sunday school class test it out for us!
Tonya- thank you so much, I am glad I could help. My son will be 2 in a week , urgh that hurt to type where did the time go?
Jennifer says
Here is my recipe for Perfect Playdough!
Jennifer says
http://capitalart.blogspot.com/2008/08/perfect-play-dough-recipe-this-is.html oops, click on the link for the recipe….
teachingtinytots says
2 cups bisquick
1 cup salt
2 cups water
1 TBSP cream of tartar or alum
1 TBSP oil
food coloring or kool aid
or
add cocoa, peppermint what ever strikes your fancy too!
pour ALL into a MICROWAVE safe bowl and microwave for 3 mins stop and scrape and stir the bowl
microwave for another 3 mins scrape and stir it should be ready for kneading now if not cook for another minute or so!
this is the coloest i can get to real playdoh! can’t get that great fresh playdoh smell though!
Allie says
Woo hoo lots to test!
jennwa says
Here is my Thanksgiving Play Dough:
Pumpkin Pie Play Dough
Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups flour
2 cup salt
8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 oz pumpkin pie spice (or your own combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and mace)
4 cups water
Food coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
Mix in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until all lumps disappear. As soon as it cools enough to handle, knead on a flour surface until smooth.
Store in air tight container.
This play dough is not edible, just for playing !!!!!
It smells so good. It is a little oily for me, but it makes for easy clean up.
Jana says
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
3 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. alum
2 cups boiling water
food coloring of your (child’s) choice
Mix all ingredients together and you’re done! (You kind of have to be exact in the measurements. If it’s too sticky, I add a little extra oil. If it’s too oily, I add a little extra flour. Too much flour makes it dry out fast.)
I LOVE this recipe and I make it for my kids ALL of the time. I’ve been making it for 5 years and have never bought the store bought stuff since. Good luck! 🙂 (I love your blog, by the way.)
J. Nalley says
We make that Pumpkin play dough recipe every year and love it! (The one listed by Jennwa) Sometimes I need to add some extra flour but it stores a good while and makes a lot.
kidletsmum says
I used to be a flubber too. And so many homemade playdoughs leave an icky residue behind… blech.
But this recipe is easy-peasy AND doesn’t give you the icky feeling after playing with it.
Extra-easy KoolAid Playdough
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 pkg KoolAid
1 cup boiling water (the boiling part is important.)
1 1/2 tbsp oil
In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and KoolAid (the little package of just colour and flavour– no sugar.)
Stir in the boiling water and oil. Stir til combined. Then knead for about 5 mins on a well-floured surface.
LaDonna says
Since I can’t stand the smell of store bought playdough (looks like I’m the odd one out) I like to make this recipe that I got from here: http://www.musesofmegret.com/?s=play+dough
No-Cook Apple-Cinnamon Play Dough
1 cup apple cider
1 cup salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Place cider in a large bowl. An optional step here is to add some food coloring — I chose not to, to keep ours looking like authentic spiced-cookie dough. Add salt, flour, and cinnamon, and blend well. Will gradually thicken and stiffen as you stir. Turn out and knead until mixed well. Play!!
Allie says
I am going to be busy!
Allie says
Okay I have ten different recipes , I am off the the market to get flour, cream of tatar, alum and lots of kool aide 🙂
I will update and the winer will be declared on Monday !
Brenda says
Word of warning–I use the Kool-Ade recipe and my daughter’s favorite color is yellow.
Lemonade Kool-Ade does not smell good in play dough.
And you probably shouldn’t try to add the only extract you can find if it happens to be peppermint. Because lemonade+peppermint is probably even worse.
Not that I know anything about it. 🙂