To say we love play dough is an understatement. We spend a significant amount of time making balls, snakes, hearts, snowmen, and gharial’s (not to be mistaken for a crocodile or an alligator).  I like to make my own for many reasons. It reminds me of my childhood, it’s softer, it smells good and I know exactly what is in it. So if your thing is having organic ingredients – you can do that, if you have old flour that you don’t want to use for baking – here’s your recipe, if you’re trying to cut back on packaging – I got you covered, if you want a quick and easy craft to do with your kid – this is it!

You’ll need:

1. 1 cup flour
2. ½ cup salt
3. 1 cup warm water
4. 2 tsp cream of tartar
5. 3 TBS oil
6. Food coloring
7. Mint or peppermint oil as desired.

Put the first five ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat. It will get lumpy.

Stir consistently until it comes away from sides of pan and forms a ball.

Remove from heat. I place mine directly on our counter top, because the next step is kneading. While we wait for it to cool, the kids pick which colors they would like to use. Once cool, knead in desired food coloring. The kids love this part. Their hands will stain when the food coloring is added, but after the food coloring is incorporated, it will not come off the play dough. If you are cool with blue fingers, this part is fun for them!

If desired, add 4-6 drops of scented oil to give a pleasant aroma. My favorite fragrance to use in play dough is peppermint extract.