I lovemaking playdoughwith my kids, and today I’m sharing what is easily theBEST playdough recipeever.
The recipe was handed down to me by a trusted preschool teacher years ago, and it can’t be beat. I’m so confident about this recipe, in fact, that I included copy in my best-selling book,Tinkerlab: A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors.
The good news is you don’t have to buy the book to get the recipe because I’m sharing all the secrets of this no-fail play dough recipe here with you today.
Why this is the best homemade playdough recipe?
- It’s easy to make (see our no-cook version of the recipe below).
- It will last for months if stored in a sealed container or bag.
- The texture is divine. It’s soft, pliable, and fun to work with.
Why play dough is worth making at home
- Toddlers and preschool kids thrive with sensory play, and this is ultimate sensory play material.
- It’s economical.Compare it to store bought dough and you are saving tons of money.
- You know exactly what does into it and won’t worry if it gets on hands or if your child happens to lick their fingers while playing with it.
Our Plan
My plan was to make a simple batch of play dough to replace the sparkly dried out purple stuff that happily fueled our cookie-making, glitter infusing, practice cutting, snowman-making needs over the past two months.
I asked my daughter what color she would like this time around, and she answered with…
ALL of them.
Ahem. Right.
So we suddenly had ourselves a plan to make rainbow play dough, which raised the question, “how will we color this batch?”
There are so many ways to put color in your play dough: drops of food color, kool-aid drink mixes, food dye or coloring, and liquid watercolors are my favorite ways.
Stay tuned to see what we used today.
The wayI have always made playdoughrequires that I add the color to the whole batch while it’s cooking, making it difficult to make multiple colors. But by some lucky, happy accident we managed to add the ingredients in the wrong order, but it looks like we landed on thebest playdough recipe yet.The texture is buttery and I was able to deliver on the multiple colors request.
Andthis ingredient,(cream of tartar if you don’t want to link over) my friends, is the secret to having strong, smooth play dough (or play-doh) that won’t crumble.
So, without further ado…The Best Playdough Recipe
Ingredients for the Best Homemade Playdough
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- 2.5 cups water
- 1 1/4 cup salt
- 1 1/2 tablespooncream of tartar
- 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2.5 cup flour (all purpose is preferred and wheatflour will also work)
- Food coloring or liquid watercolors. I’m a fanSax Concentrated Liquid WatercolorsandWilton Icing Colors, which make gorgeous shades of play dough to match any occasion, mood, or toddler request.
Steps
- Place all the ingredients but the food coloring together in a large pot and stir until somewhat smooth. It will be lumpy. Not to worry, the dough will get smoother as it cooks.
- Place the pot on the stove and cook over a low heat. Stir frequently with a large spoon. The water will slowly cook out of the mixture and you’ll notice it starts to take on a sticky dough appearance. Keep mixing until the edges of the dough along the side and bottom of the pan appear dry. Pinch a piece of dough. If it’s not gooey, the dough is ready.
- Place the dough on a counter top, baking sheet, or large cutting board that can withstand a little food coloring.
- Knead the warm dough until it’s smooth and then divide it into the number of colors that you’d like to make. I divided mine into four balls, flattened each of them, added a little bit of food coloring orliquid watercolors,and then kneaded it in. I added more food coloring to get the desired shades of yellow, pink, teal, and lavender. If you don’t want paint-stained hands, you could wear gloves for this step.
- Play with the dough right away or store it in a large Ziplock bag or sealed container. Unused, it’ll keep for months. For play doughtool ideas,check outthis post.
There you have it, rainbow play dough (aka the best playdough recipe ever).
There you have it, rainbow play dough (aka the best playdough recipe ever).
The oil in the dough can stain untreated wood, so be sure to place play dough on a plate, tray, piece of wax paper, or playdough mats to keep surfaces oil-free.
What Does Playdough Feel Like?
Playdough is soft and squishy like bread dough, one of those stress balls, or a squashmallow toy. The perfect combination of salt, flour, cream of tartar, and oil means the dough doesn’t ever stick to your hands. It may leave an oily or salty residue, but it never sticks.
The sensory experience of playing with play dough is something everyone should experience. It’s a great stress relief for kids of all ages (and their grown-ups, too).
Play Dough Recipe Variations
At the stage where you added the food coloring, you could add in other ingredients to meet the season or mood. Some ideas for your :
- Add in cocoa for hot chocolate smelling play dough
- Zest a lemon or orange rind into the dough for fresh summery play dough.
- Add a cup of new or used coffee grounds into the dough for texture and smell. This dough also has the look of dirt and it’s fun to add diggers and other construction toys to this dough.
- Add lavender flower for soothing play-doh.
- Stir in a couple packets of fruit punch, grape, or cherry Kool-aid
Fun Ways to Play with the Play-Doh
Now that you have your dough, what can you do with it? Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Set it up with cookie cutters, baking sheet, and a rolling pin for a play cookie factory.
- Similarly, get out the cookie / ice cream scoop and a muffin tin for a cupcake shop. Don’t forget the candles!
- Add loose parts like popsicle sticks and buttons and see what your child comes up with.
- Look for playdough mats that have games and prompts printed on them.
The Best No-cook Playdough Recipe:
I’ve been making this dough for a few years now without too many changes. After investing in this amazingBPA-free electric kettle, I was wondering if I could make this playdough recipe without cooking it.
So I did some experimenting, and low and behold, it works.
It’s not as fool-proof and if the boiling water isn’t just right, you may find yourself putting the whole batch back on the stove top anyway, but it did work out for me this one time.
Here you go:No-Cook Playdough recipe.
More Playdough Recipes
How to Make Cloud Dough, the easiest dough recipe that calls for oil and flour.
How to Make Goop with just cornstarch and water.
Make amazing scented pumpkin spice playdough.
How to make Gluten-free Cloud Dough
Glowing Playdough
DIY Masa Playdough, made with masa harina
How to make Salt Doughwith just salt, flour, and water.
What Else Can you do with Liquid Watercolors?
Liquid watercolors can be used for so many other recipes and projects such as:
- Painting with Straws
- Doily and Watercolor paintings
- Marbleized Paper
- Colorful Goop, aseriously amazing sensory experience
