Our kids play with their playdough almost every day making little pretend dinners,worm families or faces on the table. They have a tub full of playdough tools which their 93 year old great grandmother bought for them.
1 Minute Playdough recipe:
Your will need:
- 1/2 cup of salt
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar (Cream of Tartar is a natural powdered raising agent for use in scones,drop scones,soda bread and a wide range of other recipes)
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- I cup of boiling water (from the kettle) mixed with
some food colouring (OR a the contents of three blackcurrant dazzler fruit tea bags for lovely fruity rich purple)
What to do:
Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then mix vigourously with the hot water.
Makes wonderful playdough which lasts for ages in little plastic sandwich bags.
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Just wanted you to know that you have a lovely blog,and I will be checking back often. Your “meal ideas from magazines”idea was great,especially because picture so often trigger that “ooh,I should make that!”response in me,the way a plain text recipe from a cookbook never does.
And an aside:I live in Massachusetts,USA,in Chelmsford near Tewksbury and Worcester,and it’s sort of funny to see the town names refered to in the UK,even though I know we co-opted the names!
Do you leave the play-dough to cool once you’ve made it? Because my mum was asking.
Fantastic recipe,as a childrens nanny for over 10 years I have tried lots,this is by far the easiest with the best results given!!!! Genius!
x
This recipe was so easy and simple. Ive had my playdoh for months now and its fine! WOW! Ive made it in all different colours! Cuz im sad like that lol!
My heart sunk when I found some of the recipes used to make play dough I don’t have much time and I really wanted to make home made play dough for my son as the shop version dries out so quickly and is quite tough. This recipe is a god send it’s so quick and easy and the children don’t have to wait long. Brilliant!!! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!!
I was looking for some tips to make play doh at home,the non-cook recipe –and i found so much more interesting stuff,thanks,ill be back.
PS Im a mum of 5 year old twin boys.
brilliant help. no cooking!!! a big bonus when you have four children,many many thanks.
This is great,kids love it and you know what its made from…….. even better its so cheap nto make with ingreadients left over for another batch.
May i just add i use baby oil rather than cooking oil,it smells great. and if it start to dry just mx in a little more at a later date.
can u use baby oil than cooking oil
Ive been making playdoh for years now and to be honest used to put it off as the mess and cleaning of pan afterwards. However im so glad i misplaced the recipe and couldnt remember it or i wood never of come accross yours. NEVER AGAIN will i use the cooking method as this one works better quicker and without the mess Many Thanks
I have a two year old little girl,and was told that she is very creative by a development spacialist. Wanting to make full use of this,i’m trying to get her doing more arts and crafts,but as she so young,it’s a lot of money to spend on items that will undoubtly not last long. This has been great. She loves it and with the little expense it costs,it doesnt matter if it get dirty and we have to start again.
Thank you so much.
Wow this recipe is fast and brilliant,have made the cooked dough for years but this is so much faster and a better texture.
wow the play doh is terrific our son is playing with it now. such a simple recipe i will readily pass it on .
thanks for the recipe works great–wonderful when working with 5 children,quick and easy
this recipe is FANTASTIC!! so quick and easy. I have a batch cooling in the kitchen ready for my daughter’s 2nd birthday party –one green and sparkly,one red and sparkly!!
this is soooo easy !! i used water based finger paints (non-toxic) mixed with the water to colour it,works a treat,now going to buy a big bag of salt so i can make more !!!
I work as a Nursery Nurse…so I often have to make play dough.This recipe is the best ever….quick,easy and not messy to make. Thanx so much.
I run in a Pre school and we make play dough every week,everyone hates having to do it because it takes ages and is very messy. It was my turn this week and I only remembered on Monday morning,I found this recipe and gave it a go
IT IS FANTASTIC it really did only take 1 min and no mess,I did double the amounts which worked out perfect,now all the other people in my pre school want the recipe,I think this will be used for years to come!!
I know i sound silly but was is cream of tartar is it tartar sauce.Please help
You need Cream of Tartar…a white powder. This is totally different from tartar sauce. The latter would be a disaster!
A friend of mine used tartar sauce by accident and wondered why it was a bit sloppy! Great recipe,will try this out tomorrow!
Fantastic recipe,many thanks.
I’m a childminder and have been making playdough for many years. The best thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t stink your kitchen out like the recipe that you cook does!
Just make a batch of red and white so I can make Canadian flags out of it with my Rainbow Brownies tonight!
Very good help thanks to whoever made this website i have 6 children and they are always asking me to playdough Now because i come on this website all the time i no this recipe like its stuck on the back of my head
dont beleive them there just fooling u the play dough could give u cancer if u alwayes touch it Im from pakistan i am the the presedents cosen of pakistan i am in year 10 and i saw a medical probleb to make the play dough out of cream of tartar mixed up with food colering
hi;
im 10 years old;
i made some pancakes today and have been looking for something to do with more flour;
this was the best yet
Wow what a fantastic recipe,kept the kids entertained for hours and only took 1 min to make it’s great. Thank you
great! my kids are having fun with it already and i only found this recipe 10mins ago!
i didn’t have any cream of tartar so i used bicarbonate of soda,which is similar,and it has turned out great!
i love the idea of adding glitter to it too
also i added some almond flavouring to it aswell so it smells good!
Thanks for the recipe
thanks for the amazing recipe,my son (3yrs old) lovvves playing with play doh,though i didnt find the cooking recipe hard,this is easier than that ,so takes no time at all.made 4 colours in 10 mins (in which i ran out to get a bag of salt and yello food color as wel
) Awesome!
gonna add glitter the next time.
[...] found this great recipe on one of my favorite blogs,Becoming Domestic. The recipe is so easy! The hardest part was [...]
This is a great recipe,for anyone who doesn’t have measuring cups I worked out that 1 cup is roughly 192g (maybe a little bit more).
this is brilliany! if only my mum knew about this when i was a child it would have saved her a lot of stirring! the tea bag idea is amazing! credit crunchy god send who needs horrible food colourings and it gives a lovely smell!
thank u so much
Hello. I’m a nursery nurse,but have been a SAHM since having my little girl who is now 19 months old. I wanted to make some playdough for her but couldn’t remember exactly what I needed. This recipe is fantastic!! It was so fast to make,about a minute or 2 which was really handy with an impatient 19 month old clinging to your legs! So much easier to make than the one we used to cook in the nursery!! She loved playing with this so much that she never moved for 2 and a half hours!! Which is a looonngg time for someone that age!!!
Hi,is it ok to use baking powder instead? I’m disabled and can’t get to ths hops easily. I was looking for this to make for my 2.5 yr old to play with this morning. I have all the ingredients bar the cream of tartar,but have baking powder instead.
HELLO ive got a 2 year old baby girl and i used to buy that expensive play doh but she kept dropping on the ground then it would dry up so i stopped buying it but she always asked for it at the shop so i tried to make make some but i couldnt.
this was a huge help!!!
Hi
Fabulous recipe,soooo easy! I added lavander oil (just a drop) to it so it smells nice (hoping it might encourage my son to chill out….hasn’t so far!) and planning to make more with other essential oils in other colours. Thanks for this idea.
WOW…i’m a teacher in a hot country and i’ve never been able to make play dough last,due to our school not having a fridge. this recipe is super. my dough is 2 months old and still going fresh and strong!
thanks!
First try and a great success!!!!!!!! Just add more flour if little sticky (mine was!)Worked fine with Bi-carb of Soda and so simple …
thankyou soooooooooooo much i have to make playdough for 30 people and i only get £2 a week pocket money so really needed a cheap way of making a load so thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxx
thx a million this easy cook recipe is great! it is an easy and simple way to entertain overs. the whole family loved it. lol!xxxxxxxx
Looks great,planning on buying dough 4 young relatives,but will test on my 20 month baby tomorrow &plan to source plastic containers to put dough in 4 xmas pressies &secret santa @ toddlers. If it works you’ve saved me a bomb!!! thankyou
There are many recipes for playdough and I am really glad that people are having fun –but please be aware that it a really good medium and germs and parasites such as childhood worms to thrive. That’s why at my school we make it every week,sometimes twice when such a lot of children use it. The person who had it for 2 months in a hot country –ugghhh!
wow thats was quick and easy to do….used some herbal tea bags to get colours as had none in and used the bicarb…great idea will pass this on to my friends…
Wonderful!!!
Thanks this was really quick,non messy and I know my little girl will have hours of fun with it. Used food colouring for nw but really want to try the herbal T bags.
I remember a similar recipe when growing up. A little variation to consider:
boil your water in a small pan and throw in a few blackberries and blueberries (we always have some in the freezer) –the water will turn the playdough a flesh colour,and it makes perfect mice ears too!
Use half the quantity of cream of tartar for a less springy dough
Grapeseed oil has very little smell
I never use scented oils or essences as I don’t want to make it tooooo attractive to my 2 1/2 year old’s taste buds!
In response to an earlier comment about keeping it for two months,I am sure they had the sense to keep it in the frige
. But it’s so easy to make,and so cheap,that you don’t have to keep it for long anyway.
[...] It has recipes for heart shaped peppermint creams (which are even easier to make than my ever popular playdough recipe). I’m not sure who will get the most joy –the kids while making them or their grandma when [...]
Will this playdough last for a week? I have a weekend of childrens meetings i was going to use playdough at. Can i make it the monday before i leave or should i wait until nearer the weekend?
Hey! I just found you. I am also a country girl who is not so country and loves life with little ones. Nice to find similar interests.
after making things with this playdough –like xmas decorations,can you bake it to make it go hard? if so,what’s the best temp and for how long?
This receipe is fab. It took me about 1 minute to make it and its sooooo easy and clean!!!! I used baking powder instead of cream of tartar and i also used childrens paint to colour the boiling water and it worked a treat……thankyou!!!
thank you i will make this recipy
This is great,thank you –you need more flour than you think you do,an earlier poster is right –if it’s all sticky and gooey,just add more flour. I used baking powder as well,worked fine. Keep it in a sealed bag when not in use.
Kids off on half-term and asked for dough yesterday. Made it with added glitter for girly-girl age 5. Awakened this morning by industrious thumping and chatter from kitchen,5 year old and 8 year old were in mass production with dough saying it was the best toy in ages! It’s so easy to make and clean up and the kids LOVE it,many thanks for the recipe.
just wondering how long this playdough lasts,as other recepies say they only last a couple of weeks,is this the same?
[...] for play doh that you didn’t need to cook and it appealed immediately. The recipe was found here. I made a blue version for Ollie and he and Daddy enjoyed playing with it,although I am not sure [...]
Hi have 3 children and have just made play dough after school.
Great receipe!!!!! Took no time,but you do need more flour than stated.
Hi,just tried your playdough recipe and it’s great,I didn’t have any cream of tartar so used bicarbonate of soda and it worked just as well.
Absolutely brilliant,effortless and keeps the lil ones amused for hours and hours and hours!!!
this recipe was great,I have 5 kids and its so much hassle to buy play dough and far too expensive,thanks to the creator of this recipe
Thanks xx
thank you so much,i have a three year old daughter that has just started school,so i often get her friends over to play.this recipe is ideal its quick,clean,fun for the kids an doesnt break the bank thanks xx
Just made this with my little girl this morning. Fantastic recipe and quick to do,i would definetly recommend!
WOW! this took me literally 3 mins to make! My kids are going to love their mummy so much when they get home from school!
I AM A 12 YR OLD GIRL BUT I STILL LOVE TO USE THIS PLAY DOUGH IT IS SO EASY TO MAKE YET SO FUN XX AND THEIR IS NO MESS
Can bicarbonate of soda be used instead of cream of tartar??
my daughter has wheat allergy,is it possible to make with something else???
I found this recipe a splendid help! i shall shout it from the roof tops. i’ve made a rainbow of colours.
[...] some music and spend hours upon hours creating all kinds of creatures and shapes. And according to Becoming Domestic it’s really easy to make at home! Our kids play with their playdough almost every day making [...]
[...] source [...]
[...] http://becomingdomestic.co.uk/2006/10/28/how-to-make-playdough-no-cook-recipe/ [...]
[...] source [...]
[...] some play dough (or make some). Sculpt your ideal time-travel vehicle— anything you can get in or ride on will work. Is it a [...]
Hi I have been looking for a good recipe for ages. Thanks for sharing it with everyone.
wow best ever made not sticky or anything turned out great even my 7yr old girl helped my make it she and her 2yr old brother love it didn”t have tattar so used bico-soder instead
this is good
self-raising flour realy works i tried it its brilliant lol
Did you know that Salt is a great preservative? My Uncle used to save casings to make sausage in a jar with salt brine,(cleaned guts),,,they stayed elastic and no food poisen sitting in jars,no refrigeration,,for years.salt brine is water and salt,,so much salt the water does not completely get wet…same with curing fish,,it’s Cured with salt,no cooking,,,Salmon ,locs..maybe the playdough does not get full of bad stuff,,because of the salt,,also lemon oil is a natural preservative,,and smells good As long as it. Is kept in bags and not thrown on ground…maybe too many kids at day care to keep clean,but in your family,at home as long as it is soft???Maybe another after school project,,is to get out the microscope..and check play dough,,to see how bad ?it might get…My very busy grandson,stayed at counter for hours,making everything,setting them out to dry. He is …2 1/2,and non stop,,had to make 2 batches in 2 days,,because he built a house,ABC’s shapes,,,so we ran out,,can’t wait to see if the salt does protect,,the dough from germs….I know lemon juice is part of natural preservative. On natural chemicle free face creams..oils and lotions..I used a little lemon oil concentrate,,for lemon scent…just told him not to eat it…..
Hi!!!
My daughter is two (Hannah) and my “baby”is one (Bailey)…
I am a private tutor and needed to help a student with a physics project!
Your clay recipe was PERFECT for the project AND for my girls!
Awesome blog!
XXX
Fantastic!! even making it at school. thank you so much again.
ITS GREAT IM GOING TO DO IT RIGHT NOW TO MAKE A MONSTER MODEL FOR MY HOMEWORK IVE DONE A FACTFILE NEXT I HAVE TO DO A MONSTER
MODEL AND THEN I HAVE TO MAKE A SPECIAL OBJECT FOR MY HEROINE.
I have made play dough using this recipe and it by far delivers the best results!
)
So quick and simple to make!
I always found when making play dough that it took ages to get the mixture right,etc.
But this recipe makes it perfect every time
Very good.
Wow! That is the quickest,easiest and best recipe for playdough we’ve tried (and we’ve tried a LOT!) Thank you. My 5 little ones will be amused for HOURS!!!
Hiya,was just wondering if you could use bicarbonate of soda instead of the cream of tartar? just come to make this for my little girl,when i realised we didnt have any tartar. Many thanks x
i am just about to make the play dough
I made this today for my little boy &didn’t have any cream of tartar so used recipe without &came out perfect without it. will be making lots more!!
We have been asked to teach something to our peers for a University project (Primary school teaching) around 15 minuets long. We wanted to do something fun and practical and chose to do play-dough. Looking at the recipe I Wasn’t sure it was it was going to be of quality due to it’s simplicity,but the play-dough is perfect,and I now have faith in the presentation!
This is the best. it rocks.
thanks for puting this recepi.
great and it stops them eating it,hehe
were do crem of tarata
xx
The playdough is very gd my lil bro is very happy now !!
Thanks SO much i have got to do my science homework and i ran out so this was a life saver
x
[...] http://becomingdomestic.co.uk/2006/10/28/how-to-make-playdough-no-cook-recipe/ [...]
HI I AM A 12 year old girl this is a great recipe i have a homework thing due and this is great
Great recipe,too late for my little ones as they’re getting ready to fly the nest…But great for visitors with small children as it’s so quick.
We ended up our playdough session sending them out into the garden with a handful each to see what they could pick up with it (my girls used to find flowers,pretty stones,feathers etc) now our broody hen is wearing some of it!
I’m wondering whether you can compost it or would the salt content kill off any plant roots?
wow great i love it. i have just finished making it and what a result. it is so boring doing y5 mini SATS tests and compared to them this is brilliant. mummy is really proud.
this did not work very well for me it has gone lumpy and sticky
thanks anyway.
WOW!!! really great…i have 3 children under of 4 and find amusing them really time consuming and hard……but this was fast,fantastic and very easy A* for your great recipe
I tried the recepie today –it was great and not messy as on the stove.
thank you so much for the idea.
Maryi
it is really cool,ive never made playdough before,and it works!
WOW,this playdough was really fast too make thanks.my 3 year old son is playing with it now.he loves it.
wow:why did I not know about this 25 years ago no more cooking in the pan.great way to make playdough.My 6 year old boy loves it.
This is such a good recipe! I love it!
is it alright with cold water
Great recipe,made 3 lots (1 for each of my 3 children in 3 colours) in less than 10 mins. Brilliant. Just had to let it cool down before use. Brilliant,hours of fun!! Thanks.
Fantastic recipe –made tonnes of the stuff and spent the last two hours reliving my childhood!
wow that was great do you leave it to reast
FANTASTIC!! I have been following the same playdough recipe for years at my playgroup,and it takes so long to cook and come together. I tryed this one out and its SO EASY and great results!! Thanks for sharing
hi,errmm me and my friend were wondering if you put it in the fridgee?:)xx
Can I use baking powder or baking soda instead of cream of tartar?
Cream of tartar is expensive.
Hi i’am 13 years old during the summer i have to stay home and it gets very boring,this recipe is very fun to make. thank you so much for posting this
I love your blog and I especially love this recipe,that I’ve had bookmarked for the last couple of years and never fails me. I tend to add a bit more oil than you specify,and ‘jazz’it up with glitter,but this yields such lovely soft playdough that I’m never going to need another recipe. In fact I love it so much that I recently featured it on my blog,with a link back to you. So,I thought it was high time I actually say:‘Thank You’.
hey i love easy no cook play doh its a bit stikky but i <3 it
thanks
yay i can make playdow
<3 
hi……..
ummmm i don’t have cream of tartar i went to the shops to get some but its REALLY expensive…
could i use baking powder????
susan
The kids decided to play with play dough. After fighting though the mountain in the cupboard under the stairs we found the play dough box and the contacts all drien. This recipe is fantastic,so easy and quick to make ( Always a bonus with impatient children!) Thank you for helping me stay sane!!! xx
how many grams is a cup ???
I’ve been doing this recipe for years and you dont need to use tarta or baking powder if you dont have any,doesn’t really make any difference. Just about to make some before my 4 kids drive me nuts!!
MAGIC! Grandchildren visiting for long weekend so survival pack required! Just made first batch of play dough using your recipe ~ soooo easy &quick. Will keep little fingers busy making some multicoloured batches! (Will probably have to take instructions from little madam!) Used fragranced bath oil ~ mmmmm! Thank you x
Can you eat if? Lol
i love this i am 10 years old and i made it for my cousin because mum said please come with me to the shops to get play doagh so i got on the net and looked up easy to make pay doah
) 
so i mad eit an dmy mum was shoked so now i make it for family and have some every where
car room and other places for them to play with when thay scream
This recipe is the best I have found yet –Thank you! I am a childminder and the kids can help make this one as its so easy. I will be making all colours etc.
Just thought I would add that you can also make sticky goop for them to play with by mixing water and cornflour –My 2 year old girl has been playing with it for about half an hour! And it rinses off with water,so great all round!
Thanks again! x
Have made loads and not all turned out. This is the first,and its great,took no time at all.
gd recipe
I think thats alot of ingretients I herd you just need salt,water,and flower (food coloring optional)
Fantastic,been using this recipe for sometime now! shared the recipe with my friends too. Thanks
Just made this for my Mums and tots group,made really quickly and no mess,great recipe . thanks.
This is fantastic. Made some pink and some blue….took no time at all….thank you very very much x
hi im jade and im only 10 years old but this is perfect congrats
ps u don’t need the cream of tar tar xx
Brilliant! So glad I lost my original recipe &found this. Happy child,happy mummy. I’ve sent it on to loads of others. Thanks!
it was brilliant Thankyou playdoh.com
This is a brilliant recipe will tell friends I am 123 and I used baking soda works a treat.
Sorry 12
Thankyou,i found this recipe so easy,cheers
Could I just ask why the high amount of salt is required. Does it help preserve it,I mean it’s not to make it taste better is it
…but seriously,is the salt needed?
@Jonnyb –You’re right on both counts it helps to preserve the playdough after little hands have played with it and it also prevents really little kids from wanting to eat it!
Simple and cool playdough recipe. I’ve tried several recipes and this one works perfectly.
amaizing recipe!!!!
I am in uk so what is a cup of flour and half cup of salt in weight?