Play Dough

As a daycare and as a mom, playdough is a blessing and a curse. The kids love to play with it and it is super easy to make, but oh the mess of it all!! We have tried a few of the playdough machines and they drive me absolutely insane... The playdough gets stuck in there, hardens, never comes out and then you spend a few hours chipping away at the stupid machine just so that the kids can play with it for a little while. Ugh!! Anyhow, can you tell how I feel about those dang machines?? So, at our house we have a bucket of cookie cutters, rolling pins, butter knives and so on that are MUCH easier to clean and the kids have just as much fun playing with!! This is my favorite playdough recipe that we use quite often - I usually have all the ingredients on hand and the kids love to pick what color it is going to be! This dough lasts FOREVER!! Seriously, I usually end up throwing it away and making a new "cooler" color batch before it hardens up at all...

Playdough

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring

Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth and starts to pull away from the side of the pan. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. I usually add flour and knead it out like bread dough so it isn't so sticky... Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled.