Homemade Mexican Chocolate and Mexican Chocolate Coffee Play Dough: perfect in *almost* every way! #epicfail

Once you try homemade play dough, you never go back.  You can control the ingredients, you can alter the color and smell to fit your child’s likes or the season, and it molds and rolls so much easier than store bought play dough!  You can Google play dough recipes and find more than you could ever even hope to make.  For this particular recipe, I used The Imagination Tree’s 4 Minute Play Dough Recipe and modified it a bit.  Please check out her unaltered recipe as it is absolutely AWESOME!  Anna even has an entire page dedicated to play dough recipes and play ideas if you’re looking for more ideas.

While the kids and I have made play dough a few times before, I wanted to try something new and different this time.  My favorite flavor of all time is chocolate, and a few years ago at Locopops, a local popsicle shop, I found the BEST popsicle ever.  It was called Mexican Chocolate.  I don’t know all that was in it, but I do know it combined chocolate and cinnamon.  While I would have never thought to put the two together, it is really an amazing combination!  I thought it would make a perfect combination for play dough, too, since both chocolate and cinnamon have such strong aromas.  

And what I learned is that it *is* the perfect combination for playdough….and it isn’t….  Let me explain….

Here is what you will need for my version of Mexican Chocolate and Mexican Chocolate Coffee Play Dough:
Each ingredient is divided into 2 bowls
* 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup salt
* 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
* several tablespoons of cocoa powder
* several teaspoons of cinnamon
* 2 cups boiling water
* dry coffee grounds (saved/dried after making coffee)

1.  Get out two bowls.  Put half the flour, oil, salt, and cream of tartar into each bowl.  Add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder to each bowl and a teaspoon or two of cinnamon to each bowl.  Mix well. 

2.  Add one cup of boiling water to one of the bowls.  Stir until everything in the bowl is combined.  Allow to cool enough that you can handle it.  

3.  Knead the dough for several minutes until all stickiness is gone.  Be sure your hands are dry for this part, and it also helps to flour them a bit to prevent sticking.  You may add a little more flour to the dough if it still seems sticky after kneading.  You have just created Mexican Chocolate play dough!

4.  Repeat step 2 with the 2nd bowl of ingredients.  When you are ready to start step 3, add coffee grounds during kneading.  You may add as much or as little as you desire.  You have just created Mexican Chocolate Coffee play dough!!

I rolled the new playdough into two big balls and got out some silicone cupcake molds, wooden spoons, and birthday candles for the kids to play with.  

They happily made cupcakes for quite awhile.  I did, too.  The play dough literally smelled good enough to eat!  The kids enjoyed smelling it as much as they enjoyed playing with it.

Well, I walked away from the kids and their chocolate bake shop for awhile.  I heard Lilah, my newly 3 year old, say she was now making baby blankets with the play dough.  She’s obsessed with all things baby.  

After awhile, she announced she was finished and I came over to see.  When my eyes saw what she had created I stopped.  I stared.  I gaped.  I gasped.  I reminded myself to breathe.  And then I laughed until I cried.  And it continued for most of the night.  When I see the photos, I will still occasionally burst into little fits of laughter.  

Are you ready?  I hope you have a strong stomach.  Remind yourself….”IT IS JUST PLAY DOUGH!!”  

Ok, scroll down then, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!!

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Yes, this is what Lilah had happily and proudly created with our deliciously scented Mexican Chocolate Coffee play dough.  They are baby blankets, mind you!  

L&L, with their sweet, innocent, childhood minds never made any reference to what *I* and every other adult in the world I’m sure think it looks like.  They were honestly very, very confused by my sudden maniacal laughter, but soon joined in with me because that’s what you do I guess when you think your mom has suddenly gone off the deep end. 

So, anyway, while this is the PERFECT play dough in terms of consistency, ease of making, and smell, you might want to go with a different color if you’re hosting a play date!

This playdough will last for several months if stored in an air-tight container when not in use.  That is, if you want it to!