favorite play dough recipe

Everyone has a favorite. Here's my favorite homemade play dough recipe. It's the one my mom made me when I was little. I've make it for my peeeps now too.

Mom's Play dough

2 c. water
3 T vege oil
1 T alum
Boil together. Remove from heat. Add:
1/2 c salt
2 c. flour
Knead. It's hot, but work it on the counter adding a bit more flour if needed. Add food coloring if desired. A friend suggested adding a few drops of vanilla and that does smell nice. This can be stored in an airtight container and keeps well for weeks.

I made up three batches of playdough this afternoon to take to the nature center. We are discussing the moons surface and I thought that might be a fun way for the kids to make a bumpy surface. They are going to think the moon is made of soft pink dough and smells like a salty ocean.

This is the recipe Bee's school sent home last year. I used it for the last batch since I was out of alum. It's made the same way.

Boil:
2 t cream of tarter
2 T cooking oil
1 c water
Add:
1 c flour
1/2 c salt

I will be interested to see what difference there is in the recipes. I can't tell a difference yet. Alum is used in preserving food while cream of tarter is a stabilizer, so I suspect the alum version will store longer. We will see.

Unrelated photo: I have so many from the holiday weekend to sort through.