Playdough

Our wonderful evening babysitter made playdough with Alanna the last time she was here. I had to get the recipe from her because it's such a good playdough! It keeps well either in the refrigerator or out and personally I think it's better than the commercial stuff.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Food coloring as desired

1/2 Cup Flour

1/4 Cup Salt

1 Tsp cream of tartar

Heat the water so it is hot, but not boiling. Add the food coloring and vegetable oil. Combine the dry ingredients, then add slowly to the water mixture keeping it at medium or low heat and stirring until it is a good texture (about when it starts to ball up and come away from the sides of the pot). Knead the dough on the counter as it cools.

This made a nice amount for each color that fits well within a snack sized ziplock bag. A couple notes: The water got a little too hot even on medium and the playdough mixture started to get crumbly in the pan pretty quickly. I simply dumped it out on the counter and kneaded it and it still turned out just fine. Also the dough is HOT when it comes out of the pan, so be prepared that your hands are going to be rather warm for the initial little while of kneading--I would not have a child knead the dough until it's cooled off to warmish.