We love to make homemade play dough – it’s a whole lot cheaper than its commercially produced counterpart and making your own also means that you can easily enhance the sensory nature of the dough by experimenting with different combinations of scents, textures, colours and other visual elements (for example, adding glitter or glow in the dark paint). The combination of spices and citrus used in this blend makes this dough an aromatic feast for the senses. My four year old really enjoyed grinding the cloves and combining them with the nutmeg and cinnamon in our mortar and pestle – in fact, she loves to measure out all of the ingredients and add them to the pot!
Spiced Citrus Playdough Recipe
You will need:
Basic cooked play dough recipe
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 cup salt
- 2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups water ** see note below about liquid components
- Liquid food colouring – we used a combination of yellow and red to make orange
Spiced, citrus blend
- 12 whole cloves, ground with a mortar and pestle
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup citrus juice – mandarin, orange or lemon
- Zest of one lemon, finely grated
** When using juice, substitute out ¼ cup of the water for the ¼ cup of juice, therefore using 1 ¾ cups water + ¼ cup juice
To make:
Place all ingredients into a large saucepan. Stir constantly over a medium heat until the mixture congeals and forms a ball, approximately 3-5 minutes. Continue to heat for a further minute, constantly turning over the ball of dough. Remove from heat and knead until the dough is smooth.
Homemade play dough is best stored wrapped securely in an airtight plastic bag.
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
