Homemade Play Dough

Rainy, March break days can get pretty boring for kids and pretty hair raising for parents, so I thought I would post a simple recipe for this quick, colourful play dough. This oughta keep 'em occupied for a little while anyway!

This recipe is very simple and only requires a short cooking time on the stove top. You will need: all purpose flour, warm water, table salt, vegetable oil, cream of tartar and food colouring.

First, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of all purpose flour and a 1/2 cup of table salt...

...and 1-1/2 tsps. of cream of tartar (found in the spice section of the grocery or bulk store). Stir with a fork to combine.

Next, add 1 cup of warm water,

...and 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil.

Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir to combine until mixture is fairly smooth...next, add in the food colouring...

...and stir again, until the colouring is fully incorporated ( I use the gel style colouring, found at the "Bulk Barn"...it seems to create more vibrant shades).

Place the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly...

...until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball (this should take about 3-5 minutes, depending on how hot your stove is...do not let the mixture burn).

Remove from heat and dump the play dough onto a piece of waxed paper to cool.

Once the dough is cool enough to handle, form it into a nice, neat little ball...

Next, hand the finished dough over to the little ones and watch their boredom fade away...for a fleeting moment anyway!

Make several batches, colouring each one a different colour...store the dough in ziploc bags...enjoy!

Homemade Play Dough

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of table salt

1-1/2 tsps. of cream of tartar

1 cup of warm water

1 tbsp. of vegetable oil

1. In a small saucepan, add in the flour, salt and cream of tartar...stir with a fork to combine.

2. Next pour in the water and the vegetable oil; stir until fairly smooth.

3. Add the food colouring and stir again until the colouring is fully incorporated.

4. Over medium heat, stir constantly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball.

5. Remove from heat and dump the dough onto a piece of waxed paper to cool.

* note: store play dough in a Ziploc bag