Gracen and I may have just stumbled upon the best. play dough. recipe. ever. today while combining my old go-to with a few other ideas we found around the net….  Now I know I said similar things about this recipe, but this new one involves no cooking (win!) and smells delish (double win!)

We did have to make a trip to the grocery store beforehand, as a couple of the ingredients are not things we regularly keep on hand, but it was well worth the trip.  This is by far the softest, squishiest, smoothest, nicest feeling {and smelling} play dough I’ve ever come across.

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Now before I share the recipe, I want to say that there are LOTS of factors at play when making play dough at home.  It seems like it should be a simple enough task {and I promise that it is}, but there a few things to consider and I want to be sure that your play dough turns out well.  Believe it or not, things like the elevation at which you live, the weather / humidity where you are, and how you measure your flour can all affect whether your dough turns out too sticky, too dry, or just right.

For the purpose of this recipe, know that I measure flour by scooping a heaping amount of flour into my stainless steel measuring up and pressing it down into the cup on the inside of the bag.  Thus, my flour is fairly packed down in the measuring cup.

Also know that if your finished play dough turns out too wet, you can save it by adding a little bit of extra flour, bit by bit (just go slow here – you can overdo it quickly!) and kneading it in.  At the opposite side of the spectrum, if your dough seems too dry or tough, you can add moisture  and soften it up by adding tiny bits of one of the wet ingredients (boiling water, oil, or glycerine) at a time, again being careful not to overdo it.

The BEST Scented No-Cook Play Dough

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour (packed down into the measuring cup)
• 1/4 cup of  table salt
• 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
• 1 packet of Kool Aid , 1 packet of Frosting Creations Flavour Mix , or enough Wilton gel food colouring to create your desired colour*

 

• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of glycerine
• 3/4 cup of boiling water (measured in a dry measuring cup – this is important as wet and dry measures aren’t the same and using a wet measure will likely make your play dough too sticky)

*If using Kool-Aid or Frosting Creations, additional food colouring is not needed.  You can also skip Kool-Aid / Frosting Creations all together and use the gel colouring for a coloured but unscented dough.  Or leave out all three  for a unscented, natural coloured dough.

Place all of the ingredients, save the boiling water, in a bowl and whisk well.  Measure the water using your dry measuring set and add it to the bowl.  Give the mixture a quick mix with a wooden spoon, banging off it off every once and a while.  At this point, the mixture may seem too wet and sticky to make good play dough… Do not fret!  Leave the semi-mixed dough on the counter to cool for 5 or so minutes.  Afterwards, dump the mixture out onto the countertop and knead really well.  You’ll know you’re done when the dough is fully cooled, soft and squishy, and the super smooth.

Enjoy!

FIY:  Kool-Aid is a powdered drink mix that you add sugar and water to make ‘juice’ and Frosting Creation Flavour Mix is a powder used to flavour store-bought icing.  Both can be used in this recipe to scent AND colour the play dough, but they can easily be left out for a natural, unscented dough or replaced with food colouring for a coloured, but unscented dough.

FIY #2:  Non-edible glycerine is readily available in the first aid section of most grocery stores  and edible glycerine is available where cake making supplies are sold.

FIY#3:  This play dough will last for months if stored at room temperature in an air-tight container or bag. Do not refrigerate or store near a heat source or on top of the fridge.

FIY #4:  When making this play dough, we use dry measuring cups only – even when measuring the boiling water.

 

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