Make Playdough Without Cooking

Making playdough for kids is inexpensive, easy, and fun. Unlike recipes that require cooking, homemade no-cook playdough is quick, requires minimal parental supervision, and is great for modeling projects because it dries over time.

Steps

Mixing Dry Ingredients and Oil

1. Pour 2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Use all-purpose flour for this.
2. Add ½ cup of salt. Pour this into the mixing bowl with the flour.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. Add this to the bowl with flour and salt. This ingredient gives it the elastic consistency that makes playdough stretchy and malleable.
   • If you don’t have cream of tartar available, you can use this recipe without it, but your playdough may be less malleable.
4. Mix the dry ingredients. Stir the flour, salt, and cream of tartar together with a whisk or wooden spoon.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the oil to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or spoon.

Adding the Color

1. Boil 1 ½ cups of water. Use the microwave or stove to bring water to a boil, with parental supervision.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring to the boiling water. Use traditional liquid or gel food coloring or a natural alternative, in whatever colors you like.
   • Remember that a couple drops go a long way. You can add more later if needed.
   • If you want playdough in several different colors, split your dough into however many containers as colors you want, and do the same with the water after it has boiled before adding color to each one.
   • You can make your own dyes with fruits and vegetables by juicing them or boiling them in water. Raspberries, pure pomegranate juice, or roasted beets can be used to make red. For yellow, try raw carrots or mangoes. For blue, use radicchio or red cabbage.
3. Pour the colored water into your bowl. Add the water in slowly while mixing well with your other ingredients. You may reach a good consistency before using the full 1 ½ cups.

Kneading and Adding Extras

1. Let the dough cool. Let your playdough sit in the bowl to cool from the boiling water.
2. Knead the dough. Once it has cooled, take your playdough out of the bowl and knead it with your hands for a couple of minutes.
   • Kneading the dough thoroughly is what makes it the right consistency, so keep at it until the dough is no longer sticky.
3. Add more flour, oil, or color if needed. If the dough is still too sticky after kneading, add a sprinkle of flour and knead again. Do the same but with oil if the dough is too dry, or with food coloring if you want more vibrant color or streaks of color.
4. Add glycerin or glitter (optional). A few drops of glycerin makes the playdough shiny. Add glitter to make the playdough sparkle!
5. Roll into balls to store or start playing. The playdough will do best if it is not left out for too long and stored in an airtight container kept in room temperature.
   • If you live in a hot or humid climate, keep the playdough out of sunlight or store it in the refrigerator.
   • If you made your playdough with natural food coloring from fruits or veggies, you may want to store it in the refrigerator to preserve freshness.

Video

Template:Video:Make Playdough Without Cooking

Tips

• No-cook playdough is perfect for modeling projects that need to be partially or completely dried, such as baking soda volcanoes.
• If playdough comes out too dry, add a little more oil. If too wet, add a little more all-purpose flour.
• If the playdough is too sticky, you can flour a flat surface, such as a countertop, and knead the playdough on the floured surface.
• The playdough should last for several weeks if kept in airtight containers.

Warnings

• Beware that no-cook playdough will harden if left out for several hours. If you want something that be left out in open air, try a cooked playdough recipe.
• Make sure kids have parental supervision for using cooking materials and handling boiling water.

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Whisk or spoon
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• ½ c. salt
• 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• ~1 ½ c. water
• Food coloring
• Beets, blueberries, or other natural coloring (optional)
• Glitter (optional)
• Glycerin (optional)

Related Articles

• Make Sweet Edible Play Doh
• Make Kool Aid Playdough
• Create Cornstarch Playdough
• Make Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough

Sources and Citations

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN_jpuToGdE

See also

• Make Play Dough without Cream of Tartar
• Make Kool Aid Playdough
• Make Dough Vegetables
• Make Play Dough
• Make Playdough Soft Again
• Make Safe and Easy Play Dough
• Revive Dry Play Doh
• Make a Play Doh Ganesh