Making play dough at home is a delightful activity to do with kids - it combines creativity, sensory exploration, and a bit of kitchen chemistry. By adding spices like cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, you can create a wonderfully aromatic play dough that not only engages children's sense of touch, but also their sense of smell.
This dough is one of our favorites! The spicy cinnamon smell makes this a perfect play dough for the holidays.
What You Will Need:
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Salt
- 2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
- 2 tablespoons Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Allspice
- 2 tablespoons Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons Cooking Oil
- 1 cup Water
- Mixing Bowl
- Mixing Spoon
- Saucepan
- Sealable Plastic Storage Bags
What You Do:
- Mix flour, salt, Cream of Tartar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
NOTE: You can adjust the spices until you have the scent you want. The spices also add the color for the dough. - Add water and oil to the dry ingredients and stir well.
- Pour the mixture into a large pot and heat the mixture on low heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- When the dough begins to form, remove from the heat and carefully knead the dough until it is smooth.
NOTE: The dough will be hot, so allow the dough to cool slightly before kneading. - When the dough is cool, it's ready to play with!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future play. We've stored this dough in the refrigerator for over a year, taking it out frequently to play with.
Variations:
- Children love to play with this unique dough - the texture and scent is very calming. Give children cookie cutters to use with the dough to form characters and shapes.
- We like to make this play dough as holiday gifts for children. Seal the dough in a plastic storage bag, then put the bag inside a decorative container. Tie a festive ribbon around the container, add a gift tag, and you have a nice holiday gift to give a child.
The Science:
The flour provides structure for the dough. The proteins in flour, glutenin and gliadin, combine with water to form gluten, which gives the dough its elasticity.
Salt acts as a preservative, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and mold, and it also adds an interesting texture to the dough.
Cream of Tartar acts as a stabilizer, preventing the formation of sugar crystals and keeping the dough smooth and pliable.
Vegetable oil adds moisture and helps to keep the dough soft.
The spices not only add a wonderful aroma, but also contain natural preservatives.
When the mixture is heated, the water helps to activate the proteins in the flour, allowing them to form gluten. This network of gluten proteins gives the dough its stretchy, elastic texture. The heat also causes the mixture to thicken as the starches in the flour gelatinize, absorbing water and swelling. The constant stirring ensures even heating and prevents the dough from sticking to the pan.
So there you have it! By understanding the roles of each ingredient and the process of heating and mixing, kids can see how this simple recipe transforms ordinary kitchen staples into a fun, aromatic play dough that sparks creativity and delights the senses.
