How do you make safe playdough at home?

Kids Can Make: Play Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour. 2 cups warm water. 1 cup kosher salt. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. 1 tablespoon cream of tartar. Assorted food coloring. Food-safe gloves.

What is the 3 ingredient recipe for playdough?

3 Ingredient Play Dough 1/2 cup cornstarch. 1 cup baking soda. 3/4 cup water. Optional: 2-3 drops essential oil and 4-5 drops food coloring. Mar 23, 2024

What are the 4 ingredients in homemade playdough?

For the most part, homemade playdough recipes contain the same essential ingredients: flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, water, and food coloring.

How to make kids safe play dough?

5-minute homemade playdough 1 cup All purpose flour. 1 cup water. 2 teaspoons cream of tartar. 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil. food coloring of your choice. Jan 29, 2024

How do you make playdough safe for kids?

2 cups water 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 2 tbs cooking oil 4 tsp cream of tartar Food coloring (optional) Add food coloring to water it you wish to color the dough. Mix and heat until ingredients form a ball. Knead until smooth and store in airtight container.

Why does homemade playdough need cream of tartar?

In fact, baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar. It is slightly acidic, and because of this, it affects the gluten structure of the playdough to make it more elastic. Tartaric acid acts as an emulsifier, so it helps prevent any added oil from separating.

How do you make playdough Fluffy?

Fluffy Playdough 1 cup cheap hair conditioner. 2 cups cornflour. Food colouring and essential oil (optional)

Is homemade playdough safe?

Because flour is an ingredient in many homemade play dough recipes, you should not allow your children to put play dough in their mouths unless you cook the flour before adding it to the other ingredients . To kill any bacteria in flour, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute.

Can you make playdough with plain flour?

Cooked Playdough Recipe 2 cups of plain flour (it does not matter what size cup you use as long as you keep it a consistent size) ¾ cup of table salt. 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar (this is optional but keeps it fresher) 2 cups of warm water.

What was playdough originally made of?

In the 1930s, Noah McVicker worked for his family's soap company. It was called Kutol Products. There, he made a new kind of wallpaper cleaner. It looked like putty and was made of flour, water, salt, and many other ingredients .

How do you make non-toxic playdough without cream of tartar?

How to Make Playdough Without Cream of Tartar 1 cup of flour. 1/4 cup of salt. 3/4 cup of water. 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Food coloring. Any seasonings or scents you would like.

The Perfect Homemade Playdough Recipe (Safe and Non-Toxic) (2024)

Have you been looking for the perfect homemade playdough recipe?

Well my friend, look no more.

Today we are talking all about how to make the best homemade playdough with no cooking necessary.

I will also be sharing with you some tips and tricks about homemade playdough making, and answer some homemade playdough frequently asked question.

After a few attempts at trying out a few playdough recipes along the way, I noticed that none of them were quite “it”.

So, I set out to make the perfect playdough recipe by adding “just right” ingredients and measurements that will make your playdough the perfect consistency.

Let’s do it…

The Perfect Homemade Playdough Recipe

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Homemade Playdough Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 tablespoons of oil (canola or coconut)
1 1/4 cup water (hot or boiling)
Food coloring
zip-lock bags

Instructions

STEP 1: Add Ingredients

In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Then, add the oil and boiling water to the mix.

Step 2: Mix Ingredients

With a spoon mix all of the ingredients in a bowl
Once mixed thoroughly, and the mixture is warm (not hot), mix by hand
Roll the playdough a few times on a flat surface using both hands (like pizza or bread though), until thoroughly mixed and soft.

Note: Caution with the boiling water and the kids if they will be helping you. The playdough consistency should be perfect. But in the event it isn’t as smooth as you would like it to be you can always add a extra splash of oil.

Step 3: Divide the playdough

Divide the playdough into 4 equal parts
Press an indentation in the center of each piece

Note: Only divide the homemade playdough if you are planning on making different color playdough batches. If you are only making one big batch of the same color, you can skip this step.

Step 4: Add the food coloring

Place a few drops of food coloring in the indentations you made on each dough batch

One by one, roll each playdough batch until the color is fully mixed into the playdough

Note: Consider wearing disposable gloves if you don’t want to stain your hands/nails. Although, food coloring doesn’t stain too bad. Add more food coloring if you would like a darker shade of a particular color.

Step 5: Voila!

You should have beautiful and soft batches of colorful homemade playdough.

Now the kids can use it how they want to as it makes a great indoor activity for kids.

Note: Make sure the homemade playdough batches is stored in zip-lock bags or an air-tight container when not in use. That will prevent it from drying out.

Tips and Considerations

It is really easy to make this homemade playdough recipe, however there always some tips and tricks you can implement to make the process smoother. Specially, if this is the first time you will be making it.

So, here are a few things to consider when creating your first homemade playdough batch:

Ingredients Substitutions

The ingredient list I shared with you earlier is not set in stone. You can feel free to substitute any of the ingredients for other versions of the same stuff.

For instance…

Oil: You can use any cooking oil you wish. I used canola in all of my attempts but you can also use any other, like coconut oil. I will try coconut oil next time. I would hope it gives the playdough a coco-nutty smell.

Coloring: Food coloring comes in different forms. A lot of people use liquid food coloring, but I ended up using gel food coloring. The gel food coloring gave the homemade playdough a beautiful marble finish during the first few mixes. That was a pretty touch (images below).

Water Temperature: I ended up opting for the boilingwater. Although I am pretty sure hot water would do just fine, I feel as if the boiling water helped the ingredients mix in together better.

Don’t complicate yourself

For the purpose of this tutorial I opted to make different color playdough batches.

But, you can opt to make on big batch of just one color.

Have fun with it

There are a lot of fun things your kids can do once your playdough is ready.

Add glitter!

All you have to do is add your desired glitter amount to each batch and work it in to the playdough.

Here is how ours turned out. Our favorite was the blue playdough with the blue and silver glitter.

Try using gel food coloring.

Like I mentioned before, using gel food coloring gave the playdough a beautiful marble finish during the first mixes. So that might be something you might want to try.

Homemade Playdough FAQ’s

Can I make homemade playdough without Cream of Tartar?

Yes. There are other recipes that call for corn-starch, Jell-O, and other alternatives. However, I found the Cream of Tartar to be the best alternative to achieve the perfect consistency. Just buy a good amount on your next grocery visit or order it from Amazon and make homemade playdough over and over at no extra cost.

How do I keep my homemade playdough from drying out?

This homemade playdough is very versatile and forgiving. But, you can keep it at its best by storing each batch in a zip-lock bag or an air-tight container to help it keep its moisture.

If at any point, it becomes a bit dry from prolonged exposure to air, just add a small splash of oil and should help bring it back to life.

How long does homemade playdough last?

Depending on how well the kids take care of their homemade playdough is what will dictate the length of time it will last.

But typically, with this homemade playdough recipe (and assuming it is stored away correctly when not in use, your dough should last weeks/months.

Why opt for homemade playdough vs store-bough playdough?

There isn’t anything “wrong” with store-bought playdough. We have actually bought it multiple times.

UNTIL, we learned to do it ourselves.

The recurrent expense of buying store-bough playdough that will dry out by the second day is no longer an attractive option.

Instead, we can make our own over an over at no expense (only small initial investment of ingredients).

What’s more this homemade playdough recipe is simple, safe, natural, and perfect for keeping the kiddos entertained at all times.

Other reasons to opt for this homemade playdough recipe:

it is natural and safe
it’s inexpensive
lasts for weeks/months when properly stored
you can customize the appearance (color, glitter, patterns, etc.)
it’s a fun project for the kids to do
it enhances and promotes their sensory and imaginative play

Is there an alternative to food coloring or dyes when making homemade playdough?

Yes, absolutely.

If you rather not use any type of artificial coloring, try using beet, spinach, and/or carrot juice.

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Final Thoughts

This is the best homemade playdough recipe I have ever made.

It is my hope that you and your children enjoy making as much as we do.

I would love for you to try it and let me know what you though of it in the comments or simply send me an email at lovelymomhood@gmail.com.

Will you be trying this homemade playdough recipe? Tell me what you think about it in the comments below…

Oh and don’t forget to pin it for later, so that you can made homemade playdough over and over again!