This is a super easy recipe for homemade playdough your little ones will LOVE.  I have four boys and they wanted all the colors so I actually double this recipe.

• 2 Tbsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• food coloring (liquid food coloring works, I prefer gel)

(Makes 1½ cups, approx. size  of a softball)

• Food Coloring can be added to the dough before or after cooking.

To add color before cooking -  put a small amount of gel food coloring on a toothpick and mix it into the water before it is added to the dry ingredients.

To add color after cooking – (the dough will be white) make an indention in your dough and  place a small amount of gel food coloring into the indention. Knead the gel into the dough until evenly colored.

**If you don’t want your hands to get temporarily stained wear gloves.  My boys loved seeing the color slowly mix into the dough.

Turn stove on to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, making sure to regularly scrape the bottom of the pan.

Lumps will begin to form and it will look a bit like chunky like a dumplings consistency.

Continue to stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Once a ball has formed remove from the heat. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. The dough will be quite warm/hot so wait to begin kneading once dough has cooled enough. Knead dough until smooth. If the dough feels too dry at any point, simply add a small amount of oil on your hands while kneading.  When dough is nice and smooth form into a large ball.

You have officially made your first batch of uncolored playdough!  Now it’s time for the fun part!  Seperate the dough into however many colors you would like to make.  I would suggest making a double batch if you want several different colors.  The amount you see in the pictures is a double batch.  Color the dough to your choosing.  (See tips below!) We chose to use basic gel food coloring and make pastels just in time for EASTER!

•  Food Coloring:

1. The amount gel food coloring depends on the actual color and strength of the color you want. If you buy a box set of color, the back usually has a chart to make different color combinations.  Craft stores have a larger variety of colors. They also have full strength. For example – the red you get at the grocery store tends to turn out to be pink.
2. Start with a small amount of coloring and then increase until you get the desired color. (Follow box instructions)

As always, have fun and ENJOY!

 Happy Easter!