Basic Play Dough Recipe

How To Make Homemade Play Dough

Pink

Use: 

• 2 cups water +1 cup shredded beets for the intense pink

• 3 cups water, 1 cup tightly packed purple cabbage simmered for 20 minutes for the light pink

• Other possibilities: cranberries/ cranberry juice, raspberries, strawberries, red grape juice or beet kvass

Yellow

Use: 

• 2 cups water + 1 cup packed onion skins

• Other possibilities: grapefruit, orange or lemon peels, carrots, chamomile tea, celery seed, green tea, saffron

Yellow/Orange

Use: 

• 1 cup water + 3/4 tsp turmeric for the bright yellow

• 1 cup water + 1 ½ cups shredded carrots for the orange

• Other possibilities: carrots and paprika

Blue

• 3 cups water + 1 cup tightly packed purple cabbage + baking soda*

•  To make the cabbage water blue rather than purple, simply add small amounts of baking soda until you get a color you like!
• Other possibilities: blueberries

Green

Use: 

• 1/2 cup of spinach + 1 ½ cups of water.

• Other possibilities: kale, asparagus

Purple

• Elderberry, dried or fresh!

• Other possibility blackberries would work. You could also try mixing red and blue.

Basic Play Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup of naturally colored water (see above) OR 1 cup water and natural food coloring
• Optional: a few drops of essential oils for fragrance. Citrus oils like orange, lemon and lime are good choices that are safe for small children.

Instructions: 

1. Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in a medium-sized pot
2. Add oil and colored water and stir until ingredients are well blended.
3. Place pot on the stove over low/medium heat. Cook the dough – stirring often – until begins to pull away from the sides of the pot (about 3-5 minutes)
4. Allow the dough to cool a little and then knead for a minute or so.
5. Store in an airtight container

Gluten-Free Dough Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup non-GMO cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup of naturally colored water (see above) OR 1 cup water and natural food coloring

Instructions: 

1. Mix flour, cornstarch/arrowroot, salt and cream of tartar in a medium-sized pot
2. Add oil and colored water and stir until ingredients are well blended.
3. Place pot on the stove over low/medium heat. Cook the dough – stirring often – until begins to pull away from the sides of the pot (about 3-5 minutes)
4. Allow the dough to cool a little and then knead for a minute or so.
5. Store in an airtight container