by Michelle 48 Comments
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Okay. I know everyone and their mom has a homemade play dough recipe (or five). I decided to post the one our family uses anyway for a couple reasons. 1) I’ve read that some people’s homemade play dough needs to be kept in the refrigerator or it will go “bad”. I honestly don’t even know what that means, because this stuff literally lasts forever as long as you store it in an airtight container. 2) One of the learning activities I plan to post about soon will include some play dough fun, which means I needed a fresh batch of our homemade play dough (since my daughter’s favorite activity is mixing all the colors together). I figured we might as well take some pictures. (Update: Educational post with play dough can be found here..)
This recipe comes from The Toddler’s Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. Unfortunately, it does need to be heated on the stove for a few minutes and then allowed to cool, but the extra time spent in preparation is worth it to me since I need to make new play dough so rarely. My oldest was never very into play dough. Even today when I asked him if he wanted to help mix the play dough he insisted on using a rolling pin rather than his hands. However, my 3 year old could play with this stuff for HOURS. We still buy her some store bought Play-Doh for her birthday and Christmas, because she loves all the colors, but it all ends up mixed together in the end anyway.
Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary
Time Required: ~1 hour (most of which is letting it cool before mixing)
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Less than $1 per 2 cup batch.
Materials:
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- food coloring (I used about 15 drops per batch)
- 1 cup flour
Supplies & Tools:
- saucepan
- measuring cups
- tablespoon
- measuring glass (for water)
Instructions:
- Mix together the water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in the saucepan. (Everything except the flour.)
- Heat on the stove until most of the salt has dissolved.
- Stir in the flour with a spoon, then wait for it to cool a bit before kneading with your hands to get it smooth.
- Store the play dough in a Ziploc bag or other airtight container. It does not need to be refrigerated.
HAVE FUN!
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Comments
This recipe is pretty similar to the one we use. It really does keep for a LONG time!
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I know! I don’t even technically know how long it lasts. I think we had one batch for over a year and it was totally fine, but then my preschooler left it out and it finally dried up.
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- darlene l carter
I used a very similar recipe with the same ingredients. Howwever it got moldy. really nasty. It was kept in an airtight plastic container.
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That’s really strange! I’m sorry that happened to you. Maybe your recipe did not have enough cream of tartar? It’s been awhile since I made this, but I was just thinking about doing it again today. I know in the past we’ve just kept it in a Ziploc bag and it’s lasted for months. I have literally NEVER had it get moldy. I usually end up tossing after a couple months just because my kids let it get too gross and filled with dirt and dog hair!
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Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been experimenting with play dough recipes, and some of them dry out fast. Will give this a go.
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Awesome! I think it’s worth the extra prep time to have it last so long. Let me know if you find a better recipe though. I’d be happy to try out a new one.
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- Milia
Hi! Stupid question, but can this recipe be tripped, quadrupled, octupled, etc? I want to make play dough favors for my son’s birthday party so I’ll need 30 cups of play dough.
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That’s a lot of play dough! I’ve never tried doing anything besides doubling the recipe, but I can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t work. I think you should be okay! Good luck!
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- Milia
Thank you! Maybe I’ll test out a smaller batch to see how it goes first. I was thinking about inexpensive favors for the party and thought of play dough. Thanks for your recipe! I’ll keep you posted if I decide to get wild and go big! :)
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- Patricia
I just tried this recipe for my 1 1/2 year old. I found that the texture was very rubbery. My hand got tired just trying to knead it smooth.
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I’m sorry! Ours has never been rubbery. Maybe try adding a little more oil? It is a bit of work to get it all kneaded smooth, but we save ours for a long time, so thankfully it only has to be done once.
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- Jessica
Is it okay if the cream of tartar is expired?
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Haha, I really don’t know, but I imagine so. Good luck!
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- melissa mckinnon
I can’t get my salt to dissolve! Help! It’s been on for at least 30 min. I used sea salts.
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I’m sorry! I always just use regular super cheap, iodized salt. Maybe the sea salt crystals are just too big and are taking forever to dissolve? I know it’s probably too late now, but if I were you, I’d just pull out as many of the large grains as I could and keep going!
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- Melissa Sinclair
I made play dough on Sunday went to play with it tonight had a funny smell what happened
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I have no idea! We just keep ours in a ziplock bag. It smells a little weird when you’re making it, but it gets better (less noticeable) after it cools off. It definitely never smells like Play-Doh, but my family doesn’t mind the smell. I’m sorry!
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I have never try this till now. Even i never heard it. But it’s look better. I am gonna try it at my home . Thanks for the recipe.
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Good luck! I hope it works well for your family. :)
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- aline
I’ve been making this playdogh for over a year now and it is great! But lately, I keep getting mold in in it and it is sealed in an airtight container. Do you know why I am getting mold batch after batch where before I wouldn’t? And how I can prevent it so it lasts longer than a few months?
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I’m not sure! I definitely live in a drier climate. Has it been really humid where you are recently? Also, have you checked the expiration on your cream of tartar? Cream of tartar is the natural preservative that makes this recipe last a long time. You could try adding more cream or tartar or using alum instead (another natural preservative). Good luck!
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- Chermaine
Thank you so much for the recipe and you have solved my doubt as well on the moldy issue. For so many years, I have made dough that will get moldy very soon. Now that I know we have to add in cream of tartar as a preservative. One question, what actually is alum?
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I really hope the recipe works out for you! It works great for me, but I suspect humidity might affect the amount of cream of tartar needed. I’m not actually sure about alum. All I know is that it is sold in the spice section of grocery stores and is used for pickling and as a preservative. I normally use cream of tartar, but I’ve heard that alum will work as well!
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- Krystle
Can I add sparkles??? Can I use coconut oil?
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I’m sure you can add sparkles! I’m not sure about coconut oil, but it’s definitely worth a shot!
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- Deanne
Hi! I appreciate the recipe but it seems like no matter what I try I can’t get my salt to dissolve enough as my dough turns out grainy.
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Hmm…I usually have a little undissolved salt in mine, but it doesn’t turn out grainy. Maybe if there is still a lot of undissolved salt after you’ve heated the liquid on the stove, try scooping the undissolved part out before you add in the flour. Good luck!
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- Tahani
Mine turned out sticky and the more I knead the sticker it gets :( whats the problem please help
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Hmmm….That’s interesting! Mine has never turned out sticky. If I were you, I would try adding more flour. It should definitely NOT be sticky!
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- Rachel
I have same receipe from my mother – except instead of just stirring in flour you keep cooking and stirring in stove u til it all pulls away from pan.
However, my questions is : most of the time it turns out great and lasts for months. But last batch I don’t know what the heck I did but it was fine the next day and then 2wks later I opened Tupperware and that batch had gone all sticky gooey slimey and wasn’t dough anymore – what did I do wrong???Reply
That sounds unpleasant! I’m not sure! That hasn’t ever happened to me. I’m sorry!
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- Kathleen
How is this for baking -making ornaments ? thanks
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I’m not sure! I’ve never tried baking it. If you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out!
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- Richard Baber
we’ve used table salt and boiled it for ages but it’s still not dissolving.
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I’m sorry you are having trouble. It has been awhile since I’ve made this as my kids are getting older, but it’s okay if there is still a little undissolved salt. As long as most of it is dissolved, it should turn out okay in the end!
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- Jojo
Hello,
How do you prevent mold from growing? Do you have to let the play dough cool down completely to avoid condensation before you put it in the airtight container?Reply
That is a good idea! Usually we wait for it to cool so my kids can play with it before we store it the first time, so I’ve never given it much thought, but you are right that we don’t put it in the sealed container when it is still hot. We haven’t had any problem with mold, even when I just keep it in a ziploc bag in a drawer for months. I think this is mostly because of the cream of tartar, but I do live in a very dry climate, so that might be part of the reason why we have such good luck. If you are concerned, you could always keep it in the fridge! Good luck.
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- Julia
Could you always add more cream of tartar just to be safe it won’t mold?
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I don’t see why not. It shouldn’t change the consistency.
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- Mariam
Hey there
Any idea how many kgs come out of one recipe?
ThanksReply
I don’t know exactly! It makes about 2 cups. Maybe about 0.5 kg?
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