In our house, Christmas is not over until January 2. Only then is the tree allowed to come down, decorations stored away, and the Christmas music turned off until the next year. Before we say goodbye to Christmas, here are two of my favorite Christmas (playdough) recipes. They smell good enough to eat!
Candy Cane/Peppermint Playdough
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (more or less to your liking)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup of water
- red food coloring
- white glitter
In a medium saucepan whisk together the dry ingredients. Next, mix in the water, oil, and the peppermint extract and stir until a thick batter is formed. Cook the mixture over a low/medium heat until a thick dough forms. Divide the playdough in half. Turn out the halves on parchment paper. One half leave “white” and sprinkle clear glitter over the top. Knead until smooth. Add red food coloring (we use the gel type) to the other half. Knead until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of dough.
Gingerbread Playdough
(originally from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle )
Note: With three kids, I usually double the recipe so each one has more than enough to play with.
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- dash of orange
In a medium saucepan whisk together the dry ingredients. Next, mix in the water, oil, and the orange extract and stir until a thick batter is formed. Cook the mixture over a low/medium heat until a thick dough forms. Turn out on parchment paper and knead until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of dough.
PS I think of the gingerbread recipe as more wintry than “Christmasy” and make it all winter long.
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