March 13, 2017

Playdough & Fun In the Kitchen With A Toddler


These days my kitchen is primarily used for making quick meals and crafty goodies for my toddler, some creations have included, playdough, finger paint and gloop.

We just made a new batch of Playdough and I thought I'd post my favorite recipe.

Honey Dumplings Playdough
adapted from The Artful Parent by Jean Van't Hul & Tinkerlab A Hands-On Guide For Little Inventors by Rachelle Doorley

Yields: 32 oz (or 1 large yogurt container)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups salt
1T 1t cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups ap flour
5 T canola oil
a few drops of natural food coloring

Prep:
Little Hands can help to measure and mix all of the ingredients except for the food coloring together in a deep pot.  It will look quite lumpy but will become smoother as it cooks.

This is when I put my toddler in her highchair and let her watch as I cook and stir the dough over low-heat.  The water will slowly cook out of the mixture as you stir, it will start to become sticky.  Keep mixing until the edges of the dough along the sides and bottom of the pan appear dry.  Pinch a piece of the dough.  If it's not gooey, it's ready.  Remove from heat.

Place the dough on a countertop and knead until smooth (of course wait a bit if too warm to handle).

Divide the dough as many times as necessary for the number of colors you'd like to make.  I typically create 2-3 colors with one batch.  Put a ball of dough on a piece of parchment paper or something that can handle food coloring.  Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it into a disk.  Add a little food coloring and knead it in; to avoid lots of food coloring on your fingers try to fold and knead the dough over the drops of color rather than putting your hand directly into the food coloring.