Dough Nuts

The kids love messing with dough — bread dough, biscuit dough, cookie dough, play dough and salt dough. This week I made three batches of play dough (red, yellow and blue) for color mixing, and a batch of salt dough so we could create some fun shapes to bake, paint and keep!

We often made salt dough ornaments at Christmas time when I was a little kid, so the smell of salt dough takes me back. The kids loved it, and we had enough to send some of each kind home with our little friend Alexandria, who came over to play today.

Playdough Recipe
(from Playtime - it's a great, soft dough and easy to make!)
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 c. water
1 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
food coloring (several drops per batch)

Mix and stir over medium heat. The mixture will begin to clump. When the mixture becomes a thick dough, remove from pan to cool a bit, then knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in a Ziploc bag or sealed container.

Salt Dough
3 c. flour
1 c. salt
1.5 c. water
1 Tbs. light corn syrup (I used Agave syrup though...)

Knead the dough by hand until it has an elastic consistency. Roll and cut or shape as you wish, then dry by baking at 250 degrees for more than an hour for flat shapes and longer for 3D shapes. Once they are cool, paint with acrylic paints then varnish with clear coat.