Edible Playdough

I love winter snuggles, movie nights, hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies! But with the cold and rainy winter days, kiddos can get a bit stir crazy. In fact we love to craft and bake all year round, but the winter months we do it even more often. This edible playdough is a fun and easy activity that you can do with your little ones!

When our oldest was 5 he received a playdough modelling set from his grandparents. It was a set where you built a specific animal and then their was a “cage” (plastic container) that you put the animal into in order to display your creation. He worked hard on his creation, and then put it in his display case. Then we set it on his shelf in his room, so he could show off his hard work. Except that, the next morning when we all woke up the animal was missing… I asked him what had happened and he claimed to not know. We looked all over to see if it had fallen, we asked his sister, we checked high and low…. until he finally admitted that he had EATEN his playdough creation! Needless to say I was a little concerned, and he was pooping green for a few days. This playdough on the other hand, is completely edible. So, if your kiddos sneak in a bite here or there or eat a whole creation like my son, you do not have to worry!

Begin by putting 1 bag of marshmallows and 3 tablespoons of water in a microwave safe bowl (or you can melt them on the stovetop). Microwave on high 30 seconds at a time just until melted and then begin stirring.

Once the marshmallows are melted, add a couple drops of food coloring gel and mix until marshmallows are colored. Then add the powdered sugar a little at a time, kneeding it into the marshmallow mixture until you reach the desired consistency (we used about 6 cups of powdered sugar).

Then grab some rolling pins and cookie cutters and let your little guys go crazy making their own creations! To keep the dough fresh, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container. If it is hard when you want to play again the next time, just microwave it for a few seconds until it is moldable again. My kids let a few of their creations dry out so that they could display them. The dough hardens nicely if you do not wrap it.

[Trick of the trade: I still didn’t tell everyone that it was edible, seeing as though it is pure sugar! But at least I wasn’t worried if the younger ones (and older ones too) snuck a bite or two!]