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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Published: Jun 25, 2020 by Nicole This post may contain affiliate links.

    Play Doh Cookies (Colorful Cookie Dough)

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Play Doh Cookies (Colorful Cookie Dough) promotional pic

    Play doh cookies are a fun activity that you can eat. While I know the word "playdoh" often associated with the taste of salt, I assure you these colored shortbread cookies are far from that colored dough you buy in yellow containers.

    two raw lollipop shaped playdoh cookies

    When I was in middle school I went to a party where one of the activities was making playdoh cookies and baking them for a snack. I thought it was so much fun that I carried the memory into adulthood and have been sharing this fun cookie recipe with my kids over the past few years.

    They LOVE taking the colorful cookie dough and making fun designs and shapes. While they often end up blending the colors together to create weird swirls of purple or brown, it's always a blast watching their creations come to life.

    With regular playdough, you shape, destroy, and put away. With this colored cookie dough, you get to shape, bake, and eat. Sensory project and snack in one!

    My favorite part of this recipe is that its a pretty typical shortbread cookie dough, meaning that it isn't too sweet. A simple glaze or sprinkling of sugar on top would be great but who really needs their kids eating THAT much sugar? Not to mention any sweet topping would cover their artistic play doh cookie creations.

    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🍽 Equipment Needed
    • 🍴 Recipe Tips
    • 💭 FAQs
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 📖 Recipe
    4 divided and colored balls of cookie dough

    🥘 Ingredients

    • Flour
    • Baking powder
    • Sugar
    • Butter
    • Egg
    • Milk
    • Vanilla
    • Food Coloring

    🍽 Equipment Needed

    BeeyondCereal is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

    • Measuring spoons
    • Measuring cups
    • Mixing bowl
    • Electric mixer
    • Baking sheet
    play doh cookie snake

    🍴 Recipe Tips

    I've made this exact playdough cookies recipe several times over the years and my results often vary. The weather, temperature, elevation, and level of butter softness always seem to play a minor role in changing the overall dough consistency.

    If you find your dough is too wet to shape and play you have 2 good options. 1- chill the dough before playing, but note that it will soften as it warms up in your kid's hands or 2- add more flour.

    I often opt for the second one, and if by chance I add too much flour and the dough becomes shaggy, adding a tablespoon of water at a time helps bring it back together.

    Another important thing to note is that this recipe for playdough is not meant to be eaten in dough form. There is raw egg.

    If you'd like edible playdoh you can check out my marshmallow playdough, coffee playdough, ripe banana playdough, or my pudding playdough- all of which are safe for consumption and playing.

    butterfly shaped playdoh cookie ready for baking

    💭 FAQs

    Can I build 3D shapes?

    Believe it or not, you can't build too crazy of a shape, but round balls or something a little more flat will work fine. Baking time will vary. But, these cookies don't puff up while baking and do hold their shape very well.

    Should I use liquid food coloring or gel?

    I've done this recipe using both and have to say that gel wins hands down. It gives a much more vibrant color without making the dough any wetter.

    Can I make the dough in advance?

    Absolutely. Just go ahead and make it. Divide the dough into balls and color each one. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

    raw playdoh cookies on parchment lined baking sheet

    🔪 Instructions

    Check out how to make play doh cookies with these simple step-by-step instructions:

    • Cream your butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy.
    • Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix again.
    • Add in the flour and baking powder, mixing slowly until combined.
    • Divide the dough and color it.
    • Hand it over to kids with clean hands and let them go to town with making fun shapes.
    • Place them on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on their thickness.
    • Let cool on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Serve and enjoy.
    acookie shaped like a butterfly, flower, turtle, and snake

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    📖 Recipe

    play doh cookies
    Print Recipe
    4.67 from 3 votes

    Play Doh Cookies

    Not to be confused with the salty dough you play with, this is colored cookie dough that's meant to be baked and eaten! The kids will love playing with the dough and creating fun cookies!
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 12 mins
    Total Time 22 mins
    Servings: 12 cookies
    Calories: 360kcal
    Cost Recipe $2.22 / Serving $0.19
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Measuring Spoons
    • Measuring Cups
    • Mixing Bowl
    • Electric Mixer
    • Baking Sheet

    Ingredients

    • 4 cup All purpose flour ($0.32)
    • ½ tablespoon Baking powder ($0.02)
    • 1 cup Granulated sugar ($0.22)
    • 2 sticks Butter, softened ($1.50)
    • 1 Large egg ($0.08)
    • 2 tablespoon Milk ($0.02)
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.02)
    • Food coloring ($0.04)

    Instructions

    • Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
    • In a mixing bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
    • Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
    • Add in the flour and the baking powder and mix again.
    • Divide the dough into separeate bowls and add a few drops of food coloring into each bowl (about 3 drops depending on how vibrant you want the colors).
    • Shape the dough into fun shapes and then place them on a baking sheet. Allow a few inches around the cookies to them to expand as they sometimes do.
    • Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on how thick the cookies are. Cool and then enjoy.

    Notes

    I've made this exact playdough cookies recipe several times over the years and my results often vary. The weather, temperature, elevation, and level of butter softness always seem to play a minor role in changing the overall dough consistency.
    If you find your dough is too wet to shape and play you have 2 good options. 1- chill the dough before playing, but note that it will soften as it warms up in your kid's hands or 2- add more flour. I often opt for the second one, and if by chance I add too much flour and the dough becomes shaggy, adding a tablespoon of water at a time helps bring it back together.
    Another important thing to note is that this recipe for playdough is not meant to be eaten in dough form. There is raw egg.
    Believe it or not, you can't build too crazy of a shape, but round balls or something a little more flat will work fine. Baking time will vary. But, these cookies don't puff up while baking and do hold their shape very well.
    Liquid food coloring or gel? I've done this recipe using both and have to say that gel wins hands down. It gives a much more vibrant color without making the dough any wetter.
    Make Ahead. Just go ahead and make it. Divide the dough into balls and color each one. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

    Nutritional Information

    Serving: 12g | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 48.9g | Protein: 5.1g | Fat: 16.1g | Saturated Fat: 9.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.6g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 10.6mg | Potassium: 118.6mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 16.9g | Vitamin A: 135.5IU | Calcium: 41.7mg | Iron: 2.1mg
    Author NicoleDurham
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Tried this recipe?Mention @BeeyondCereal on Instagram and hashtag it #BeeyondCereal
    To view how this recipe was calculated you can visit my Pricing Disclosure Page for more information.
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    I'm Nicole and I am the owner and recipe developer here at Beeyond Cereal. I love saving money and one of the best places to trim expenses is in the kitchen. With this site, we are serving up tasty and frugal homemade dishes that the whole family will enjoy.

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