Chocolate play dough!

Smells delicious. Feels lovely. Tastes disgusting. So I advise you have a snack handy because this will give you a chocolate craving, but it won't satisfy it.



Chocolate play dough recipe.

1 cup plain flour
3 tbs cocoa
1 tbs cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup water

1. Tip all the ingredients into a pot. A smart individual would choose a non stick one. I didn't.

2. Cook, stirring constantly, over a medium heat until thick and coming away from the sides of the pot.

3. Tip onto the bench or table then knead using your adult asbestos hands. It will be hot, so keep little hands away for a few minutes. Once it is smooth and a bit cooler it is ready for play.



We fossicked in the craft cupboard and found some sparkly jewels and an old chocolate box. What you use is up to you and depends on what you have laying about. Beware of choking hazards with tiny kids. We've had fun in the past using one of those shiny gold chocolate box inserts, glitter and coloured foil. You're limited only by your imagination.



Now mould, shape and decorate. Go on, make Willy Wonka proud.



Tada! Good enough to eat!

This play dough will last for many weeks if it's kept in an airtight container or snap lock bag in the fridge, so there's plenty of playing to be done yet! Here are a few extra activities you might like to try...

-Get out the cookie cutters and a rolling pin and do some pretend baking. All the better if you have a play stove (or cardboard box with knobs drawn on and a door cut out) to cook them in. Once they're out of the pretend oven, I'd highly recommend a pretend cup of tea to have with them.

-Make chocolate cupcakes in cupcake papers, sprinkled with glitter and with match stick candles. Singing happy birthday is obligatory. After all, there is always a stuffed toy in the house celebrating a birthday on any given day.

-Make a fresh batch of chocolates, then set up a chocolate shop. You'll need a counter for display and a cash register of some kind. Again, a bit of cardboard ingenuity might be necessary. Now buy and sell from each other using buttons for money and little bags to take your goodies home in.

-Open up that third drawer in the kitchen containing all the gadgets and locate your ice cream scoop, then set up an ice cream cart. You could use bowls, or fashion some cones out of cardboard (a cereal box would work a treat). Take turns to scoop and decorate with some glitter, beads or whatnot and exchange buttons in place of money. Can I just say, the picture in my head also include some jaunty little paper hats and aprons?