Kool-Aid Play dough

I made a mistake today....

I said, "Yes" when my daughter asked me if she could play with play dough, forgetting that I had thrown away every single tiny little bit I could find after the last time she played with it. [Feel free to insert mean mom thoughts here, although my socks would assert that play dough is really the mean one].

Since it's just the two of us today and she was very nearly bouncing off the walls I remembered this fun project and grabbed my camera.

When my 15 year old was little I found this Valentine idea in Family Fun magazine.  We made these cute little play dough hearts using this Kool-Aid recipe.  I also made this with my littlest one and blogged about it here, if you want to see the adorable pictures. 

I love this play dough because we don't have to get our hands in food coloring (mostly), but also because it adds color and fragrance in one easy step....heehee.  Fruit Punch is brightest, but any flavor works.  Just be sure to get UNSWEETENED Kool-Aid mix.  Sugar is not our friend in this recipe.

Here she is at 5, still loving the Play Dough!

Here are the main ingredients all ready to go.

Here is my little sweetheart measuring, she got all dressed up in her brand new school clothes even though it's 110 outside. Did I mention she was excited about making play dough?

Measure out the flour....

Measure out the salt.....

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and whisk in some water.....

Bring the whole mess to a boil.....

Keep stirring.....seriously, don't walk away from this stuff.

Don't get freaked out by lumps, this stuff is reverse gravy and it will all work out in the end....

Almost done....

See how it is a little bit darker on the bottom? That means it is almost ready.....

Once it has firmed up to a "moldable play dough consistency" dump it out and knead it to soften....

Then let those kiddos have fun with some super smelling super cheap [still super messy, but worth it] play dough!

This 4 cup container is the perfect size for storage.....

Kool-Aid Play Dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid (fruit punch makes the brightest color)
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 teaspoons cooking oil
2 cups water
Mix flour, salt, Kool-Aid mix, and cream of tartar in a medium sized saucepan and stir to combine.  Add oil and water and mix well with a whisk.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture darkens just a little bit and thickens to the consistency of play dough.  Turn out onto parchment paper or counter to cool and knead to soften.  Store in an airtight container.