Recipe : Traditional Play Dough

This isn't actually a food recipe, per se... you could eat it in a pinch, but I sure wouldn't recommend it.    It is, however, a lovely play dough recipe that you can make up in about fifteen minutes or so, that keeps well if sealed up tight, and costs much less than the commercial products.

The recipe as written doesn't make a very big batch of dough.  We like to have more on hand, and multiple colors, so I always triple or quadruple it.  Instead of adding the color to the mix while it is on the stovetop, I add color later by kneading a few drops of food coloring into each of several small balls.  I save the containers from commercial play dough and use them to store our homemade dough, but plastic zipper bags or storage containers would work just as well.

Traditional Play Dough

1 cup flour

1 cup warm water

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp oil

1/4 cup salt

food coloring

Mix all ingredients in a large pot, adding food coloring last.  Stir over medium heat until smooth.  Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth.  Place in a plastic bag or airtight container when cooled.  Will last for a long time.