A perfect go-to recipe for when your kids want to play in the dirt, but you don’t want to have to clean it up! Bonus points: have them help for a great kitchen lesson.
By Jenna Morton
My aunt recently told me about a batch of play dough she once made when short on ingredients at our summer cabin. She resorted to using coffee grinds — which immediately had me thinking 'Dirt!'
My kids LOVE to play in the dirt. And I'm known to encourage it. But sometimes, you just don't want that level of clean up. So what better go-to to have on hand than a batch of dirt play dough!
This play dough is quick to make — from rounding up ingredients until play time is less than 30 minutes — and works great with any food colouring.
Also, this is a great recipe for doubling (or more!) and storing if you're looking to make big batches for gifts, rainy days, etc.
The coffee grinds do give the play dough a distinct smell, though they are small enough it doesn't impact the texture. I added some brown food colouring to complete the effect. My kids immediately recognized it as dirt and started driving their dump trucks across the table.
