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Ahhh, FALL! The time of year when we can all cozy up as the weather gets cooler, feel the crunch of colorful leaves under our feet, and put pumpkin spice in everything—including play dough!
In reality, there are so many more options than just pumpkin spice that add both fragrance and color to your homemade play dough. In this blog post, I share four simple no cook recipes that are perfect for autumn play.
Each of these recipes uses our tried and true play dough base, which truly is the best out there. If you’re not already using glycerin in your homemade play dough, you’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes.
Paprika Play Dough
The paprika gives this dough an earthy scent and a deliciously orange hue. Add more or less paprika depending on how pigmented you’d like it to be.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup fine salt
- 1 T cream of tartar
- 2-4 T smoked paprika
- 1 T glycerin
- 1 T vegetable oil
- Precisely 3/4 cup boiling water (use a liquid measuring cup and measure carefully!)
Directions
1.) Mix all dry ingredients.
2.) Add wet ingredients (use a liquid measuring cup for the boiling water and make sure you don’t exceed 3/4 cup or your play dough will be too squishy).
3.) Combine and let cool.
4.) Knead.
5.) Enjoy!
Chocolate Coffee Playdough
This dough has a gloriously cocoa-rific scent and a delightfully dirty texture, thanks to the ground coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup fine salt
- 1 T cream of tartar
- 2-4 T Cocoa powder
- 1/4-1/2 cup used coffee grounds
- 1 T glycerin
- 1 T vegetable oil
- Precisely 3/4 cup boiling water (use a liquid measuring cup and measure carefully!)
Directions
Follow the same process as the paprika play dough, replacing the paprika step with ground cocoa and coffee grounds.
Apple Cider Playdough
This dough has a bright appley scent that transports you straight to an autumn orchard visit. The color is creamy and crisp, just like the inside of your favorite apple.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup fine salt
- 1 T cream of tartar
- 2-4 T Apple cider mix
- 1 T glycerin
- 1 T vegetable oil
- Precisely 3/4 cup boiling water (use a liquid measuring cup and measure carefully!)
Directions
Follow the same process as the paprika play dough, replacing the paprika step with 2-4 T of apple cider mix.
Turmeric Pumpkin Spice Playdough
This dough is one of my favorites for autumn play. It is deliciously pumpkin spicy, with a pop of yellow color from the turmeric. It’s a wonderful delight for the senses!
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup fine salt
- 1 T cream of tartar
- 2-4 T pumpkin spice mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger)
- 2 T ground turmeric
- 1 T glycerin
- 1 T vegetable oil
- Precisely 3/4 cup boiling water (use a liquid measuring cup and measure carefully!)
Directions
Follow the same process as the paprika play dough, replacing the paprika step with the spice mix.
I hope you enjoy these play doughs as much as we do! If you need more arty autumn inspiration, check out the rest of our autumn art play ideas. Links to all the supplies we use to make and play with play dough are on the supplies page of this site. The lovely dough stampers are handmade from The Nature Atelier.
Happy autumn to you and your family!
