Play Dough

Submitted by Saturn

"This is from the Bethel Play Group from 1979. The ladies always made sure we had some in hand. Now I make it for my sons. It turns out well and keeps on the shelf for a REALLY long time in a freezer bag. When you first knead it, be careful, it is still quite hot. Edited to add: I made two batches today. One used up some alum I had in the cupboard from last year. That one never really got to a good texture, and I had to add LOTS more flour. The second one used fresh alum, and it came together in no time and didn't need any extra flour. I made them using the microwave. I boiled the water in a large bowl first. Then added the salt. After stirring it in, I microwaved the water again for a minute just to make sure it was hot enough for adding in the food colouring (and subsequently, the alum and other stuff). It worked out perfectly. I tried adding in some lemon extract to give it a scent but it didn't seem to take."

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Yields: 1 clump
• Serves: 1

ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1⁄2 cup salt
• 2 -200 drops food coloring
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons alum
• 2 cups flour

directions

1. Boil water.
2. Add salt and stir until salt dissolves.
3. Add food colouring to boiling water and remove from heat.
4. Add oil, alum, flour. Stir well.
5. Turn out onto counter.
6. Knead until it takes on a shiny texture.

Reviews

[Deidre G.]

All though it looks nice, I would be a little hesitant about using alum. Alum is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a food additive, but in large quantities — well, an ounce or more — it is toxic to humans. And as we all know that kids have a habit of putting things in their mouth and eating it because it looks good. So I would recommend leaving it out. I don't think it would change the dough other than the shelf life. I could live with that.

 

[Charlotte J]

What an excellent quality of play dough. It was a big hit for the little girl in the hospital that I made it for. We read the book, 'Diary of A Worm' by Doreen Cronin Pictures by Harry Bliss. Then we made a family of worms. We had a blast, while her mom and dad took some needed time off, from the 4 walls of that hospital room. If you know a little child that is sick in bed, take them a half batch of this play dough. The child and the parents will thank you!!

 

[mommylovetocook]

This was great...ready in minutes and perfect texture...loved it...Thnks for sharing...

 

[ellisonclan5]

love love love it. my three boys think making this is the coolest thing EVER. they love getting to decide which color to make it - and that they can play with it over and over without it getting hard or "too crunchy" (so says the 4 year old). thanks so much for this recipe!!!

 

[MTpockets]

How fun is this??! I had some of the store bought kind but it alway's seems to dry out and get hard so fast so I figure why not make my own. So I came to zaar and sifted through some recipes until I found this one. This is so easy to make it left me woundering why in world I didn't start making my own sooner. This is really easy to work with and I think it turns out a little softer than regular playdoh, which I really like. Kept my three year old busy for hours. She loves this stuff. Thank's Saturn!!