Oh Oh Play Dough

Matthew had a snow day on Friday, so he got to spend the day with me. After lunch, we decided to find a recipe and make play dough. Many years ago, I was an expert at making play dough. In fact, it was one of about three things I actually knew how to make. If you came to my house for dinner, there was a chance it would be play dough. Since it's been a few years, and we now have access to all kinds of information online, we did a search for the best play dough recipe and tried one out.

The ingredients are pretty simple, and we had everything in the house. The only slightly unusual item is cream of tartar, but I did have some. Matthew asked if it was anything like tartar sauce. Funny because one of the recipes I found on a blog had an explanation included so there would be no confusion. Seriously, even I would know not to add tartar sauce to play dough.

We started with the flour.

Added some salt.

Cream of tartar.

A little oil.

And water.

Mix it all up,

then cook over medium heat. We added the food coloring at this time. We used paste food coloring, which was recommended, and the only color I had was blue.

After heating for 3-5 minutes, we put it on the counter to cool a bit.

Then it was time to knead. Kneading always makes me think of my friend Jan. She once told a story about a time when she was working and her husband was "Mr. Mom." She got a frantic phone call from him one day and heard him say, "Jan, I need to know how to knead." So cute.

I believe the tongue must help with the concentration.

Time to try out the cookie cutters.

He made the Saints and the Colts. Yes, I realize the Saints should not be blue, but at least we got one team color correct.

Next, he made a star for the Cowboys. Right color again.

He wanted to make all the teams in the NFL, but surprisingly, I didn't have cookie cutters for them all. I know, what kind of a Granny am I?  I had a horse head that worked for the Broncos.

And he decided this one could be the Chicago (Teddy) Bears. I told him Aunt Shylah would not like him to call them the Teddy Bears.

He did some rolling.

And he tried out Granny's teacup.

He decided on the game lineup:

Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys

Chicago Teddy Bears vs. San Francisco Stegos

(Use your imagination on that last one.)

Play Dough

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup water

food coloring

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add water and stir. Cook over medium heat, 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Let cool slightly and knead for 5 minutes. Play.