Emergency Play-Dough for visiting kids

I don't have children of my own so am fairly unprepared for entertaining the kids of visiting friends. One such visit proved that necessity is indeed the mother of invention or rather creation in my case. I remembered my own Mum making us salt dough to play with. We would then bake the dough shapes we'd made and paint or varnish them but I wanted something brighter and more immediate - so I looked for a Play-dough recipe. Here's what I made...

What you'll need:

1 Cup flour (I used plain)
1/2 Cup Table Salt
1 Cup Water (I used warm to speed things up)
1 Tablespoon Veg or Sunflower Oil
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
Food colouring, drop by drop

Plus a large non-stick pan
Measuring cups
Wooden Spoon
Plastic tray or wipeable surface to mix colouring
Empty plastic jars
Apron

Add all ingredients apart from the food colouring to the  non-stick pan and turn on the heat to a medium  temp.

Lumpy now but keep stirring...

The mix will look lumpy and goopy at first but it quickly comes together and the lumps get knocked out as you mix.

Now it's ready to add the colour

You'll know it's ready when the dough forms a ball and becomes impossible to mix any more.

Remember to use a tray

Now you can divide it into however many colours you want to make.

Make a well before adding colour

Make a dimple in the dough and add drops of food colouring and knead in until you have the colour you'd like.

Knead the colour in well

I like to use rubber gloves for this part because the food colouring can get under your nails. It doesn't stain hands once it's mixed in properly so it's safe to let your child loose with.

Ready to be played with

You'll eventually have a lovely soft ball of dough. Ready to be played with by little ones or big kids alike.
Just make sure they play on a table or tray because play-dough isn't great for carpets!

Keeps fresh for ages if kept sealed

Home made play-dough really is so much nicer than the  shop bought stuff. It's totally edible so safe to leave small children to play with, though I can guarantee they won't want to eat much because of the high salt content. You could add some essential oil if you want to make it smell nice too.
Remember to supply cookie cutters and a rolling pin and go have some fun!

It's also great for stress relief, so you'll find everyone reaching for the pot to have a go after a long day. Get the whole family involved and try making up games to play like 3D Pictionary - Fun to play when the grown ups get together for Mulled Wine and Mince pies.

Have a fun-tastic festive season!

Ruthie