I thought I had missed my chance for a treasured childhood memory, having never made playdough with Mehalia. Tonight I needed to make some for my preschool class, so I invited her to help. She was of course delighted, as she always is whenever there is mixing and pouring to be done.

The recipe we used was 4 cups each flour and water, 1 cup salt, and 4 tbls. oil. It was supposed to have 1/2 c. cream of tarter too, which I didn’t have, and then saw that I could substitute 1/4 c. each baking powder and baking soda. We’re in the middle of moving, and despite my attempts to clearly label boxes with detailed contents, I couldn’t find those ingredients either.

So we did without – it appears to be fine. It was so awesome to see, and smell, the gooey glop turn into playdough before my eyes. (After mixing the ingredients in a big pot, we just heated it up on low, stirring often until it thickened.) It didn’t make nearly as much as I thought it would, so I ended up making a second batch, this time doubled. It was so warm and soft when it finished. I’m really happy I finally tackled one of the things I considered an essential element of childhood.

PS – By the next morning, the second batch had “melted” into a sticky mess, so maybe those missing ingredients were important after all. I tried adding sand since I was using it to make shell prints, but it just got even grosser. Oh well, the treasured memory remains in the creation process, and I’m sure we’ll need some again at some point so I’ll get to perfect my recipe.