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Home » Kids Activities » Kids Crafts » Fall Playdough

August 13, 2021 · Updated September 23, 2022 · 22 Comments

Fall Playdough

Kids Activities· Kids Crafts

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These super soft fall playdough recipes smell like your favorite things about the season! Learn how to make apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon scented play dough in 2 minutes in the microwave!

3 different scented fall playdough recipes

Fall Scented Homemade Playdough

One of my favorite things about fall are all the smells! Apple pie, pumpkin spice lattes, even the smell of leaves on the ground — I love it all!

These fall play dough recipes are inspired by my favorite autumn fragrances. I started with my favorite microwave play dough recipe — which only takes 2 minutes to make — and added festive fall ingredients.

They’re all non-toxic and taste-safe and they all smell FABULOUS!

Related: Try our scented Christmas playdough recipes too!

apple scented playdough

1. Apple Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • ⅔ cup water
  • ⅓ cup apple sauce
  • ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
  • 2 TB cream of tartar
  • 2 TB oil
  • red food coloring

Directions: Add all ingredients (except food coloring) to a microwave safe mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.

step by step photo collage showing how to make apple play dough

Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and stir until the dough is evenly colored. Add more food coloring as needed, a couple drops at a time. You can always add more, but if you use too much from the get-go, the dough could be too dark and more likely to stain.

cinnamon scented playdough

2. Cinnamon Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • brown food coloring, as needed

Directions: Add all ingredients (except food coloring) to a microwave safe mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.

cinnamon play dough with bear cutout

If you don’t use any food coloring, you’ll have a light brown dough. Feel free to use brown food coloring to get a rich cinnamon color. Start with 2-3 drops and add more as desired.

pumpkin scented play dough

3. Pumpkin Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • ⅓ cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2TB cream of tartar
  • 2 TB oil
  • orange food coloring, if needed

Directions: Add all ingredients (except food coloring) to a microwave safe mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.

You may not need any food coloring, as the pumpkin puree is a dark orange. You can use a couple drops of orange food coloring to brighten things up if you like.

3 flavors of fall scented play dough

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do You Use Cream of Tartar in Playdough?

You’ll notice that we use cream of tartar in our fall play dough recipes. Here’s why:

  • Cream of tartar acts as a preservative, helping your homemade play dough last longer. When stored in the fridge, homemade play dough can often last for weeks!
  • Cream of tartar also adds a bit of elasticity to your dough, so it is extra stretchy and doesn’t break apart as easily.

What Can I Substitute for Cream of Tartar?

If you don’t have cream of tartar readily available, here are a couple substitutes:

  • 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, strained first to remove the pulp

apple play dough with cutout

Does Homemade Playdough Need to be Refrigerated?

When I make my basic microwave playdough recipe, I usually don’t need to keep it in the fridge. I simply store in an airtight container.

Salt acts as a preservative in homemade playdough recipes to make them last longer. If not using salt, please keep refrigerated. We’ve made it both ways and the texture is similar with or without salt. It’s up to you!

One thing I want to point out is that both the pumpkin and apple pie playdough recipes both use fruit-based ingredients, which are extra moist and more likely to mold. I recommend keeping them in the fridge to extend the life of your dough.

Always check any homemade play dough before reusing and discard if there is any sign of mold or if it smells “off.”

Is This Dough Safe To Eat?

While all these fall scented play doughs smell good enough to eat, they are not intended to be consumed as a food item. They probably don’t taste that great anyway!

These playdoughs are made with non-toxic ingredients and we’ve microwaved them (which helps to heat treat the raw flour) so they are probably ok if your kid sneaks a taste or puts their fingers in their mouth. Always supervise your kids when playing, especially younger children.

If you are concerned about using raw flour in a homemade playdough, there are two ways that you can heat treat flour to make it safe:

  • Use a food thermometer to ensure that your dough reaches 160°F after microwaving.
  • Pre-treat the flour in the oven by spreading on a baking sheet and baking at 350°F for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through to prevent scorching. Always watch the flour closely while you cook it.

 

3 flavors of fall playdough stacked up

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homemade play dough recipe ebook

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3 Fall Playdough Recipes (Printable Instructions)

Print Recipe
5 from 7 votes

Fall Scented Homemade Playdough

These super soft fall playdough recipes smell like your favorite things about the season: Apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon scented play dough!
Keyword: kids crafts, play dough, sensory play
Author: Stacey aka the Soccer Mom

Ingredients

Apple Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt*
  • ⅔ cup water
  • ⅓ cup apple sauce
  • ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
  • 2 TB cream of tartar
  • 2 TB oil
  • red food coloring

Cinnamon Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup salt*
  • 2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • brown food coloring as needed

Pumpkin Scented Playdough Recipe

  • 1 cup flour
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 1/2 cup salt*
  • ⅓ cup pumpkin puree canned pumpkin
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 TB cream of tartar
  • 2 TB oil
  • orange food coloring

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients for the scent you'd like to make (except food coloring) to a microwave safe mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.
  • Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and stir until the dough is evenly colored. Add more food coloring as needed, a couple drops at a time.
  • Microwave for 2 minutes (grown-ups should do this step). Stir until cool enough to handle, then finish kneading by hand.
  • Keep playdough in fridge in an airtight container between uses. Always check for signs of mold before reusing.

Video

Pin these autumn play dough recipes on Pinterest:

3 scented fall playdough recipes

More fall fun:

Who says snow globes are just for winter?? This Falling Leaves Sensory Bottle is a cute and easy Fall kids craft or decor idea!

Fall Snow Globe

decorative pumpkins made from toilet paper rolls and bandanas

Toilet Paper Pumpkins

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Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Stacey is the creator of The Soccer Mom Blog, a Houston Texas mom blog that focuses on positive living for women and families. She loves to share real food recipes, money-saving tips, parenting encouragement, kids activities, DIY tutorials, home hacks, fitness, and so much more! To get to know Stacey even better, click here.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
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Comments

  1. Jessica says

    September 20, 2022 at 1:24 pm

    Is there a way to make it gluten-free?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 23, 2022 at 10:55 am

      You could probably use an all purpose gluten free flour, since we use cornstarch in this recipe it will still have that stretch. But I haven’t personally tried it yet.

      Reply
  2. Melissa Spencer says

    September 22, 2022 at 11:07 am

    While this is a great idea and probably smells amazing and of course fun to play with; I see one issue. Raw flour is NOT safe to eat! It states right on the flour bag “Do Not eat raw!”…I would advise against promoting this as safe to eat because it could give someone E. Coli.

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 23, 2022 at 10:53 am

      Hi Melissa, thank you for your feedback! I usually note in all my slime and playdough recipes that they are not meant to be consumed as food and the microwaving likely is sufficient to heat treat the dough. However, I did add a section in the blog post to clarify and offer more detailed tips on heat treating.

      Reply
    • Raina says

      September 25, 2022 at 5:44 pm

      I think the reason she asked about gf recipe is because some people who have gluten allergies can have reactions from just touching gluten.

      Reply
  3. Sharon says

    September 22, 2022 at 8:20 pm

    Can I bake this for a permanent creation?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 23, 2022 at 10:52 am

      If you mean can you bake it like modeling clay or salt dough, no I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure it would work.

      Reply
  4. Evelyn Freeman says

    September 25, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    Just a question, as I haven’t made this yet. Why is there an asterick* after salt in the ingredient list? sorry about the misspelling. I couldn’t find an explaination.

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 26, 2022 at 11:15 am

      I believe it was because the salt wasn’t shown in the original recipe video. You can ignore the asterisk!

      Reply
  5. Evelyn Freeman says

    September 25, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    Oh, just thought of this. What could I use for Christmas scents?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 26, 2022 at 11:14 am

      Hi Evelyn, I have Christmas playdough recipes here: https://thesoccermomblog.com/christmas-playdough/

      Reply
  6. Geraldine says

    September 27, 2022 at 7:22 am

    Will creations made with this recipe harden
    If air dried?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 27, 2022 at 2:47 pm

      I haven’t tried it, but I would think that the applesauce and pumpkin might make it to moist. The cinnamon might be the best choice, but again, I haven’t tried air drying it.

      Reply
  7. Melissa says

    September 27, 2022 at 12:29 pm

    How much does one batch make? I want to make in a classroom and trying to decide amounts of ingredients necessary.

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      September 27, 2022 at 2:46 pm

      I’d say that one batch is enough for 1-2 kids, maybe 3 depending on how much you stretch it.

      Reply
      • Janice says

        October 22, 2022 at 9:03 am

        If making this in a classroom I would recommend using gluten free flour. Many children have gf allergies or celiac and you want to make sure they can participate without getting sick.

        Reply
  8. Lindsey says

    October 5, 2022 at 11:32 am

    How long does this last if placed into a jar?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      October 18, 2022 at 2:28 pm

      It really depends! I keep mine in a plastic ziplock bag in the fridge and make sure we wash hands BEFORE playing to keep the dough as clean as possible. That being said, it is made with food ingredients (such as applesauce) so it’s important to check for signs of mold. The moisture means it probably won’t last quite as long as regular playdough, but boy does it smell fantastic!

      Reply
  9. Sarah says

    October 22, 2022 at 11:47 am

    Does not work. Soupy. So glad I wasted all my cream of tartar for this.

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      October 31, 2022 at 4:01 pm

      If the dough is still liquid-y, it just needs longer cooking time.

      Reply
  10. Angela says

    November 2, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    Can you use a different oil if you don’t have vegetable oil in the house?

    Reply
    • Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says

      November 3, 2022 at 12:02 pm

      I’d stick with a mild oil, such as canola, EVOO or coconut if possible. But yes, you can use a different oil.

      Reply

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