Craft Recipe: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Play Doughs

Here are some great recipes for a rainy day.  Or a day that is just too stinkin' hot!  Both recipes are edible, although, be careful with the peanut butter recipe because of allergies.


Peanut Butter Play Dough

one 18-oz. jar creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup non-fat dry milk

Mix ingredients together, using varying amounts of dry milk for desired consistencies. Knead it with fingers, forming into desired shapes, adding other foods like M&M's or peanuts for eyes, mouths, etc. Great fun!

Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container.
 
 
Chocolate Play Dough
 
8 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon light corn syrup

Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Stir the chocolate with a spoon until smooth, then stir in the corn syrup. The chocolate will stiffen almost immediately but stir completely combined. Transfer the chocolate to a sturdy plastic bag and refrigerate until firm; the consistency will be that of Play Dough.

When firm, the dough can be worked by kneading. If it is too hard, cut off small pieces and knead until pliable. If the dough sticks to the counter when rolling, lightly spray counter or breadboard with vegetable spray or lightly grease with vegetable oil.

Hand shape the dough into a rope or braid, making two or three long ropes and twist or braid them together -- can be used as the outside edge on top of a cake or around the base.

Make ribbons to cover the cake. To do this, pat your dough into a disk shape and roll dough out to desired thickness using a rolling pin or else use a manual pasta machine.

You can make flowers, too!

Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Craft Recipe: Sidewalk Paint

A less-mess approach to painting with children:  Sidewalk Paint.

Kids are messy when they paint but paintings is such a great creative outlet.  Here is the solution:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
A few drops of food coloring

Mix different colors in the cups of a muffin tin, supply brushes and a bucket of 'eraser' water, and slather on the sunscreen!  Your kids will have fun and your house will stay clean, especially if you hose them off before they come in, or have them run through the sprinklers!