Playdough

Homemade Playdough Recipe

1 c. flour
1/2 cup salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water

Food coloring of your choice

Add-ins of your choice (i.e. spices, extracts, glitter, etc.)

Measure ingredients into the saucepan you will be using to cook the dough, but mix them well before heating up the pan. Over medium heat cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball. When it starts to pull away from the sides somewhat and clump together and most of the "wet-looking" parts look dry, it's ready to remove from the pan. Put the dough onto the counter top and knead until very smooth. It will be warm! If it feels sticky, you can add a little more flour into it. Cool. Store in a covered plastic container OR in a sealed Ziploc bag.

When I add spices, I just shake in the spices as I am kneading the dough. Keep adding until you get the desired level of scent. If you are adding an extract like vanilla or peppermint, for example, probably just a teaspoon will be enough, but you can experiment with a little more than that. Also add gradually if you are doing glitter. I would still start with only about a teaspoon and go from there.

January--white dough with white glitter OR "snow dough" and a snowman or snowflake cutter; February--pink dough with red glitter and a heart cutter;
March--green dough with gold glitter and a shamrock cutter;
April--purple dough scented with lavender oil and an oval cutter;
May--yellow dough with lemon extract and a flower cutter;
June--blue dough with a boat cutter;
July--small balls of red, white and blue dough with a star cutter;
August--yellow dough with gold glitter and a sun cutter;
September--plain dough (no coloring) with apple pie spices and an apple cutter (or red dough with apple pie spices);
October--orange dough with pumpkin pie spices and a pumpkin cutter; or make balls of dough and using a plastic knife make the lines of a pumpkin - stick a small cinnamon stick as the stem.
November--orange or brown dough with pumpkin pie spices and a turkey cutter;
December--gingerbread dough (use lots of cinnamon, allspice, ground cloves) with a gingerbread cutter OR green dough with peppermint extract and gold glitter and a tree cutter OR red dough with peppermint extract and gold glitter and a candy cane cutter.