On Homemade Playdough

I guess it's true that the third time really is a charm!  At least, it is when it comes to my playdough making skills.  I have probably pinned at least ten different playdough recipes on one of my Pinterest boards.  I'm not sure why this was such a big deal to me, but I just really needed to successfully make playdough for the kids.  I was pretty sure it would prove that I really am a good Mom.  I can do anything!  Including make playdough!  SUPER MOM!!!

Recipe one was a big fat failure.  The playdough was dry and crusty and not at all fun to play with.  We trashed it after about ten minutes of me trying to convince the girls it was fun.  They weren't buying it!

I really thought recipe #2 was going to be awesome!  It was advertised as the softest, silkiest playdough EVER.  I mean, it had to be good right!?!  One of the main ingredients was hair conditioner.  Not only was it the best stuff on earth (as far as playdough goes), but it was going to smell good, as well!  SOLD!

I got the ingredients gathered up and had the girls come help me measure ingredients and pick out the color they wanted.  We stuck it all in a bowl, started mixing, and just couldn't get the consistency right.  The other main ingredient was cornstarch, so we spent some time adding water and more cornstarch to see what would happen to the mixture.  They loved it when it got really soupy and messy.  They played with it for about 20 minutes before they got a little out of control and soupy cornstarch/conditioner goo started flying all over my kitchen.  Yup, you guessed it.  Trashed this one, too.

I waited a few weeks before I was ready to try again.  I pinned yet another playdough recipe, sent Heath to the store for Cream of Tartar (fine, I admit it, he was already at the store, so I just called and had him pick some up, but it sounds better if I sent him for the sole purpose of buying playdough ingredients), and got busy.

You guys!  This playdough turned out awesome!!!  I found it on Pinterest and the link led me here.  Thank you, Chef In Training!  The girls helped me make it.  We made four batches in four different colors.  It was easy, it was fun, and the girls LOVED it.  It really is soft and squishy.  The girls have played with it for hours already and we just made it a few days ago!

Heath looked at me like I was a nut job as this whole playdough making process was in full swing and asked why we didn't just go buy some at the store.  I can tell you why!  That would be too easy!  And the girls wouldn't have had as much fun with the "making" process.  You also get a lot more of each color.  But mainly because I wanted to, OK, Heath!  Back off, buddy!

Playdough Recipe

1 cup water
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tsps Cream of Tartar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Food coloring

Step 1:  Dump all of the ingredients into a saucepan and mix until well blended.

All of the ingredients...minus the Cream of Tartar.  Apparently, I took this before Heath got home from the store.  OOPS!

Having adorable little assistants really helps with the whole process.

Step 2:  Cook over Medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms into a large ball.

It will look pretty soupy at first, but will start forming dough relatively quickly.  Be prepared!  You are going to get a good arm workout!  Especially if you make several batches!

Step 3:  As soon as it balls up, remove it from the heat and put it on wax paper to cool.

This is what the balls looked like when I took them out of the pan.  Shout out to my super cute playdough model!

Step 4:  Once it has cooled down, knead the dough until it's nice and soft.

Step 5:  Give it to your children and enjoy at least an hour of peace and quiet.  Get a cup of coffee, a good book, and go sit in a quiet corner until the little stinkers are done playing.

Even Logan liked this stuff!

Step 6:  Store in an airtight container.  We have ours in Ziplock bags and it's holding up great.

We had a lot of fun with this.  The third try was definitely a win!