I can distinctly recall my grandmother, Genevieve, making homemade play dough for me. She stood, apron tied tightly around her waist, in front of the stove, working away. The farmhouse sink was to her left and she had a big handmade island with intricate doors and an odd little hole where a knot used to be. The island, rescued from an old mansion that Grandma sold during her real estate agent days, stood just behind her in the kitchen.

The island was the perfect height for me when I was little. It’s where I’d help hull berries, roll gingerbread, and observe Grandma’s agile hands prepare full meals of liver for her Miniature Schnauzer, Peppy. The island was also the perfect place for play dough creations to come to life. Once fully cooked, Grandma would swiftly turn around and plop the glob of pasty, white dough out onto wax paper that she had carefully rolled out across the top of the island.

Once it cooled enough for me to touch, we’d gently add liquid food coloring to each separated piece and mix it with our hands. I remember donning my custom-made red, yellow, and blue apron (with Abigail embroidered on the front) and a pair of plastic gloves to mix in the colors so that it didn’t stain my hands for days on end.

Making old-fashioned play dough was a labor-intensive project. Waiting for play dough to cook and cool down enough to add color was brutal, especially for a little girl that often started her day with a full cup of coffee, just like her grandparents. It was the early 90’s people, my single mom worked multiple jobs and went to night school…my grandparents had free reign and I have them to thank for my love of coffee! Haha!

While I love recipes, methods, and many other things from the days of old, I also love simplicity. Keeping things simple means more time to enjoy the sweet stuff, like actually playing with homemade play dough. It’s a major perk when it’s natural and artificial dye free and doesn’t take hours to make.

I toyed with ideas for how to make homemade play dough easier, but also how to keep the experience just as special. So, I invited my best girl, my five-year-old niece, Estelle, over to help make some easy no-cook play dough. Not only would we make brightly colored no-cook play dough, but it had to smell good, too!

Many kids seem to have trouble dealing with their emotions or just calming themselves down after hectic days at school, sports, events, etc. And it seems like I hear a lot more about sensory issues than I used to, which breaks my heart. So why not kick this easy no-cook play dough up a notch and make it a great way for kids to benefit from soothing essential oils? I don’t know about you, but I definitely never had fun smelling play dough as a kid!

Here’s what you and the kiddos will need:

Two cups of all-purpose flour - you could certainly use gluten-free if needed!

One cup of salt

One cup of water

All-Natural Food Coloring (Optional) - I used McCormick’s Color from Nature (artificial dye free) food coloring. It’s made from plants, vegetables, and seeds and comes in a powder form.

Essential Oils (Optional) - We used Young Living essential oils to turn our easy no-cook play dough into a great aromatherapy and sensory tool.

We used Lavender for our purple play dough, Citrus Fresh for the yellow, Geranium for pink, and Oola Fun essential oil for our blue play dough. Use your favorites, whatever that may be.

In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, and water. Mix thoroughly using a spoon or if you’re an adult and really want to experience what it’s like to be a kid again, use your hands!

Keep extra flour on hand so that you can add a little more, as needed, to get the consistency and texture of play dough you like best. It also helps cut down on the potential stickiness that comes along with making play dough.

Divide your dough, once thoroughly mixed, into as many pieces as you have colors.

Estelle and I had fun rolling the plain no-cook play dough into four balls and creating a small bowl-like divot in each. We then added our food coloring powder to each hole along with 5 drops of each essential oil to the “bowls.”

We used our hands, glove free (because ain’t nobody got time for that), to mix each scent and color into the easy no-cook play dough. We washed our hands in between colors so that we did not mix our colors. I will tell you that the McCormick Made from Nature powdered dye did not stain our hands, at all. It was incredible!

It would have taken us 10 minutes to finish making the play dough if it weren’t for the constant chatter, the random outbursts of singing, and the harassing of Uncle Justin who patiently waited behind the camera every time we burst into tears from laughter. I can’t speak for Estelle, but I’m pretty sure that was some of the best fun I’ve had in a long time.

I can only hope that someday when she’s thirty, she’ll remember the time we made our first batch of easy no-cook play dough. Please have a look into a very special part of my life, my friendship with my niece, friend, and spirit animal, Estelle. We’ve made a fun video of our easy no-cook play dough recipe for you to enjoy. Please be warned, we’re both a little wild (Say a little prayer for our mothers).

Easy No-Cook Play Dough

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