The other day little man brought out his Dino Poop to play with {more on that story here}, and it STILL stinks! He loves to use play-dough, so I set him up at the kitchen table for all sorts of dino poop fun. While he was playing, I had the idea to make some seasonally-appropriate play-dough that doesn’t smell like poop. That’s how Oatmeal Pumpkin Pie Play-Dough came about.
This is an incredibly easy recipe that doesn’t require cooking! So, if you have a child who loves to be hands-on involved in the kitchen this is the PERFECT recipe for you. And, it uses pretty average pantry items that you should have on hand already.
Here’s What You’ll Need:
2 C. Oatmeal {quick oats}
1 C. All-Purpose Flour
1 C. Water
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Food Coloring
If you’re having your child make this play-dough on their own, I would recommend pre-measuring everything and then letting them complete the recipe.
Mix the oatmeal, flour, and approximately 1/2 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
In a measuring cup, combine your water with 3 drops yellow food coloring and 1 drop of red. I forgot this step and tried to add the food coloring to the finished play-dough mixture. It didn’t really work out, so don’t forget to add the food coloring to the water!
Start by adding 1/2 C. of water to the dry ingredients and thoroughly mixing. Add water as needed until you get the proper play-dough consistency. I added 1 C. off-the-bat and ended up having to add extra flour because the dough was too sticky.
Store your play-dough in an air-tight container in the refrigerator when you’re not using it.
How easy is that? Toddlers aren’t all that patient, so I love that there’s no cooling time required before playing.
This is a great sensory experience, too: it smells awesome, and has fantastic texture.
My son really liked this play-dough. He played with it longer than usual, and went back to it throughout the day.
At 2.5, little man isn’t so much into putting things in his mouth all the time, but if your little one eats everything in sight, this is the dough for you. I actually tried some myself and, while being very bland, it was completely fine. I especially like that it doesn’t have a ton of salt in it.
This is my favorite play-dough recipe I’ve ever tried, and I hope you and your little ones enjoy it also!
Smart! School {House} says
This is a GREAT idea!!
Michelle says
Wow, that sounds like a great recipie. I’ll have to try it for my boys!
Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum says
I can imagine the texture and the smell of this from the pictures and will have to make it with T especially as she’s still very much in the put everything in her mouth phase. Thank you for linking up to Tuesday Tots and popping by to let you know that I’m featuring your lovely playdough this week on Rainy Day Mum
Sam says
Thanks so much! I hope she loves it…it really is a great recipe!
Nikki says
Does this have to be refrigerated when not being played with? Or is that just a cool trip to make it last longer?
Sam says
I don’t think it HAS to be refrigerated…we just found it lasted well that way.