Favorite Play Dough Recipe

In the beginning of every school year I make tons of play dough for my daughter's class. Today, one of the teachers in her school asked me for my recipe. So since I'm sharing ;)

Play Dough


1 c. flour
1 c. water
½ c. salt
2 tsp. Cream of tartar
food coloring (wilton cake colors are best) *
1 Tbsp. Wesson veg. Oil ( I allow oil to flow over the spoon when I measure… so I bet I actually use 1 1/2 Tbsp)
packet of kool aid or 1/4 tsp. pepperment extract for scent

Mix all ingredients well (in a pot) before turning on heat. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very thick. Note: I pinch dough ball before taking out of pot to see if it has the play dough feel that I like. Turn out on waxed paper to cool. Knead until smooth once cooled.

* Wilton Cake colors come in little plastic jars. Michael’s craft store, JoAnn Fabrics and crafts and party city carries them. The colors go a long way. I use two toothpicks to pull out about a pea size amount for each batch of play dough. Now I also use kool aid (without sugar) to get the nice scents (they also make light colors)… grape/purple, cherry/red, lemon/yellow etc. Kool Aid - Wild Watermelon Kiwi makes a light green, Raspberry Reaction makes light blue and Artic Green Apple also makes a light green. I use peppermint extract and Wilton Colors for odd colors that don’t come in a kool aid color. Note… you don’t necessarily have to add extra wilton coloring if you use kool aid… I personally add wilton coloring to get a brighter color in the play dough.

OPTIONAL FUN: Can add 1/8 cup of glitter for a sparkly play dough… In winter, I have used the white wilton color (that actually comes in a squeeze type bottle) in my play dough and iridescent glitter… very cool looking.