I’ve been itching to introduce Noah to play dough, but because he is still at the put-everything-into-his-mouth stage, giving him commercial play dough is out of the question. My trusty friend Google offered a few homemade edible play dough recipes that looked fairly simple, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
I used this recipe from The Imagination Tree to make some white play dough and the very first time I attempted it, the mixture did NOT solidify at all. It was basically a pot of milky liquid, and I had to throw it away. The next time round, I modified the recipe slightly, so I thought I’d share it here.
Ingredients
– 1.5 cups corn flour – 0.5 cup salt – 1 tbsp oil – 1 tbsp cream of tartar – 1 cup boiling water
Method
1. Mix the corn flour, salt, and cream of tartar together in a large pot. (You might need to heat the mixture over a stove later, so it’s best to use a pot.) 2. Add the oil to the mixture. (No stirring required.) 3. Add the boiling water BIT BY BIT into the mixture, stirring after each addition, until the mixture comes together in a dough without crumbling. (You might need to heat the mixture at this stage, if it doesn’t come together properly.) 4. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth. Add more corn flour and/or hot water if necessary. (If it’s sticky, add corn flour. If it crumbles too easily, add hot water.) 5. Store in a ziplock bag or airtight container when not in use.
As I was rushing to finish making the play dough while Noah napped, I didn’t manage to take any photos of the process. Here’s the final product, with some tools that I got from Spotlight for only $2.99.
When I gave Noah some to play with, his first instinct was to put it into his mouth. Sigh. Even though it’s edible, I didn’t allow him to eat any of it, because I want him to stop trying to eat everything in sight. If only he’s like that with proper food! He only tries to eat all the inedible items, I tell you.
Trying to open the ziplock bag (he ended up biting a hole in the ziplock bag, even though he could open it.)
I tried showing him how to use the rolling pin and shape cutters on the dough, but he wasn’t very interested in it. I then stuck some pipe cleaners into the dough, and tried getting him to do the same, but all he wanted to do was to pull the pipe cleaners out. He did touch the play dough for a little while, but was clearly more interested in the tools than the dough.
What’s this?
Prodding the play dough
Messing around
My verdict? The ingredients are fairly cheap and easy to get, and despite the failure of my first attempt, I think it’s quite easy to make this edible play dough. There are even simpler recipes around for non-edible play dough, using only two ingredients, so if your child has outgrown the put-everything-in-his-mouth phase, I would recommend trying those recipes instead. Noah didn’t seem all that keen on playing with the dough, so my guess is that he’s not ready for it yet, and I won’t be giving him the dough to play with any time soon. I’m not sure how long the dough can last in the ziplock bag, but it’s been a few weeks, and it still looks and feels okay. Anyway, I can always make a fresh batch the next time, and perhaps add a drop of food colouring to make it look more interesting.
Linking up with:
*******
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, do like my Facebook page here to get updates. You can also follow me on Twitter (@GrowingwtheTans), Instagram (@GrowingwiththeTans), and Dayre (@GrowingwiththeTans), for short updates on what’s going on in our lives. Thank you! 🙂
Comments