Long Lasting, Better Smelling, Taste Safe Playdough- With Household Staples!

I never buy playdough anymore. I don’t like the smell and my younger kids would always try to eat it. So I searched for a homemade recipe that I could make. I came across tons of recipes, but most had cream of tartar in them. I never have cream of tarter on hand. I landed on a recipe that uses lemon juice instead and it has been my go-to recipe ever since! I have kept it in a container for 6 months and it is still soft and moldable (although I do question how I feel about my 1 year old eating 6 year old playdough…). You can make your own custom colors, add sparkles, or even essential oils! Although it doesn’t smell as bad as playdough, it still does have some smell to it.

Using a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of water with 3 TBS lemon juice and 1 TBS vegetable oil. Heat this just below boiling. Note: If you only want one color of playdough and you don’t want to work it in with your hands, you could add your chosen color now. But you will only have one color if you do so.

When it is just below boiling, remove from heat and add 1 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of salt. Mix it in the pan until it starts to form a ball. Remove from pan onto wax paper on the counter.

Once it has cooled enough to be handled with your hands, divide into as many balls as you want colors. This recipe makes enough for 4 playdough sized containers.

Flatten each ball and drop 6-7 drops of food coloring into the center. Close the dough around the food coloring and squish the ball repeatedly to work the color into the dough. If it isn’t vibrant to your liking, add more food coloring.

Store in an airtight container…indefinitely??? I still haven’t found the breaking point on this recipe!

Some of our favorite playdough toys include:

• forks, spoons, and butter knives. Or play kitchen utensils.
• textured rolling pins
• cookie cutters
• matchbox cars
• A set that has it all!