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 I love  homemade play dough. Especially when it’s the easiest no-cook playdough recipe ever!

This one is my hands-down favorite for a few reasons. The dough is velvety smooth, it lasts so long, and can be gluten-free. Whoo hoo! 

Even better, this recipe is so simple and great to make with toddlers. It requires only five ingredients and zero cooking…I wish every recipe was like that!

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Why Make Play Dough?

Any kind of cooking or baking projects, including no-cook play dough, are fantastic learning experiences. Here’s why:

*Math skills are built when measuring ingredients, using units of measurement, and recognizing numbers in a recipe.

*It broadens scientific inquiry and thought through seeing cause and effect of mixing ingredients. Children can also create a hypothesis before mixing. What will happen when you mix the water and oil with the flour and salt? Or when you add the cinnamon? It also gives a hands-on learning experience about the properties of different ingredients. 

*Literacy and language skills are expanded when “reading” a recipe and using new vocabulary to describe texture, process, and ingredients. Especially when you add in lots of those science words like hypothesis or reaction. You can also use multiple words for one task, like “you can mix the flour” and “it’s my turn to stir the flour.” 

*Fine motor skills and muscles in the hand and fingers are strengthened with this kind of play. This is important for handwriting, drawing, and all kinds of detailed work with the hands.

*Creativity and self-esteem blossom when trying new things! When children are a part of the process of making the dough, it can promote feelings of independence and accomplishment. 

*Sensory Play can calm the nervous system and build new synapses in the brain.

If you have a child that doesn’t like sensory play, you can ask if they want to try it with gloves on. It can give them the same benefits without all the tactile discomfort. (This dough isn’t very sticky, so it is a good start for the sensory adverse.) For some children, sensory play is like food. It might be helpful to keep offering it in new ways to see if it sparks their interest! After a few times, they might even want to try it without the gloves.

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The Easiest No-Cook Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup Flour (any kind, including gluten-free)

1/2 Cup Salt

2 Tablespoons Vegetable or Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Cold Water

                                                    1 TBS. Cream of Tartar

(No tartar? Easy fix! A dash of cornstarch mixed with a few drops of lemon juice should do the trick. The Cream of Tartar is the best, but this substitution works too.)

Coloring and Scent:

                       If you want to stick with some au natural dough, some easy coloring choices are:

Cinnamon (a favorite!)

Spirulina

Dried Ginger

Dried Turmeric

Dried Mustard

Dried Beetroot Powder

Dried Blueberries (pulverized)

Dried Paprika

Dried Flowers and/or Herbs like lavender or dandelions (crushed or whole pieces, depending on the look you’re going for with the dough)

You can also add the water from boiling beets or onion skins in place of the plain water, as long as it is cold. 

Essential Oils can make the dough smell amazing! Especially lavender, any citrus, rosemary, or eucalyptus. I add five or so drops to the vegetable oil before adding it to the mix. They might not be taste-safe, so check the labels.

Baking Extracts. I love peppermint, almond (depending on allergies), rose, and vanilla. These are taste-safe, smell great, and a little goes a long way.

 

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The dough itself will last for weeks in an airtight container or food-safe reusable bag, even longer if you keep it in the fridge. After a few weeks, I usually add a small damp cloth napkin or paper towel to the container or bag. It keeps it from getting too dry.

Using textured rollers, cookie cutters, wooden peg people, or whatever other kitchen tools you have around can make this easiest no-cook play dough recipe even more fun!

 

We often take this dough outside for nature-dough-time. The kids will just add twigs, grass, dandelions, sometimes even sand or dirt! Just whatever sparks their interest and feels cool to smush into dough. It makes it an extra-fun sensory nature experience. But be aware that these natural materials may mold or change the dough’s consistency. I usually do this when the playdough is getting to the end of it’s shelf life. 

 

This really is the easiest no-cook playdough recipe I’ve ever tried. And I’ve tried a lot! I love to pull this recipe out whenever we need a quick and fun sensory experience…or I just need something to occupy my kids for awhile. Let me know what your favorite play dough tool is in the comments!