It’s a rainy day here in Mill Valley and seemingly I needed some creative back ups with the two year old!
I stumbled upon this recipe and what I love MOST about it, is that you don’t need to make this on the stove. My two year old poured everything into the bowl and I simply added the hot water and mixed!
I did not use any dye or food coloring (as the recipe suggests) but rather mixed in a packet of crystal light pink lemonade powder! I also added some glitter for a ‘girly’ finish to a fun rainy day activity!
And when we were trying to make rings for our fingers, we added some rhinestones as well! No doubt they were a hit!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BEST PLAYDOUGH RECIPE:
- 2 Cups of Flour
- 2 Tbsp of Oil (any oil will do, coconut oil, vegetable oil, even olive oil)
- 1/2 Cup of Salt
- 2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 1/2 Cup Boiling Water
The secret to brilliant colors in your playdough is using gel food coloring – you can find the in the cake decorating sections of craft/hobby stores, or on the baking aisle in the grocery store.Â
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST PLAYDOUGH:
- Pour 2 cups of  flour into a bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup of salt.
- Mix in 2 tbsp Cream of Tartar. (You can find this in the spice section of just about any grocery store.)
- Add 2 tbsp of oil. For this recipe I used vegetable oil, but you can use any oil, and as long as it’s a kitchen oil, your playdough will be non-toxic and safe if a little one takes a tiny taste.  The sodium level is very high, so we don’t encourage this to double as a snack.
- Pour in the boiling water. Be VERY careful because this makes the dough HOT!
- Mix all the ingredients together until they form the dough. At this point, if you don’t want to add any food dye to your playdough, you’re finished!
- After it’s cooled, to make several different colors of playdough, separate the dough into equal parts and roll it up into balls.
- Now, punch out the middle of the ball to leave a little bowl for you to pour your gel food dye into.
- Drip your gel dye into the bowls. This is a great time to mix dye colors if you want to make another color.
- Knead the dough until the dye is thoroughly mixed. This is VERY messy! If you don’t want to stain your hands, use gloves, and make sure to put something down so you don’t stain your counter.