By, Sarah N.
Christmas break begins tomorrow for my family. This means that my kids will be home for 2 weeks and I know I will hear the inevitable chorus of “I’m bored!” My kids are 3 and 7, and they both still enjoy play dough. So I made peanut butter play dough from the recipe my mom used when I was a kid. This play dough is a great way to have tactile fun, but it’s safe to eat and consumable (ie. it all goes away when we are done and I don’t have to keep up with little play dough containers and their lids for months).
This recipe is so simple. My 3 year old daughter did most of the work! You only need a bowl and spoon and 4 ingredients: peanut butter, corn syrup, powdered sugar, and powdered milk. The peanut butter can be substituted with any nut butter, making it safe for kids who have peanut allergies.
Tips: Spray your measuring cups with nonstick cooking spray before you measure your honey and peanut butter– this will allow the sticky ingredients to slide out of the measuring cups more easily. You may end up needing to do the final mixing by hand in order to get everything well incorporated. If the dough appears too sticky, add more dry ingredients, if it appears too dry, add more wet ingredients. Keep in mind, the oilier your peanut butter is, the oilier your play dough will be. But regardless, all peanut butter contains some oils, so you may want to protect the play area surface depending on its material.
Play dough of any kind is great for building strength in little hands, and it’s a multi-sensory activity, incorporating touch, taste, smell, and sight! Let your kids use cookie cutters to make shapes and decorate their creations with sprinkles, nuts, candies, chocolate chips, etc. Lastly, they can EAT their creations when they are done playing, making clean up easier 😉
Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container for at least a week. I keep mine in my fridge, which probably isn’t necessary, but I just try to let it warm to room temperature to soften before playing with it.
Let us know if you try this and if your kids love it as much as I did when I was a kid!
