Cinnamon Play Dough

Ever since I saw this post on It's Always Something, I've had the intention to shamelessly copy Niki's play dough approach in every way.  :) I bought a set of cookie cutters similar to hers, divided the set into themed bunches just as she did, and that's where my emulation ended until today.  Mike has been out of town, and as I pondered how to add some extra fun into my time going solo with my kids, the idea came back to me.

The thing is, I could totally picture a little McCormick jar of cream of tartar in my cupboard, but it just didn't exist.  I don't even recall why I would have had it, but for some reason I believed I did.  Enter Google and the fact that this probably happens to a lot of people, and I was able to salvage my spontaneous endeavor with this recipe from Natural Parenting Tips.  Yup, sure, I was just trying to be more natural and aviod the aluminum in cream of tartar, mmm-hmm.

Aside from being a little sticky (I even added extra flour having read reader comments) and smelling a bit like a salad (had to go with the white vinegar alternative since I also had no lemon juice), the recipe worked out.  I was able to whip up a batch within the timeframe of an episode of Curious George.

Like Niki advised, I added some food coloring during the cooking process rather than after the dough cooled to prevent staining hands.  Along with going with cream of tartar next time, I'll also add more food coloring, especially when aiming for orange. It came out an odd fleshy color (notice Michael's toe comment in the video below). 

I stirred in some fall spices at the end as well.  With that vinegar, however, I don't think any amount of nutmeg and cinnamon could ever totally do the trick!

But the kids didn't seem to mind. 


Cinnamon Play Dough from Shared and Doubled on Vimeo.

I should add that Michael quizzing me on the cookie cutter shapes is a common exchange around here.  He and Sophie tend to take on this teacher/parent persona on occasion, and I love it!  :)