Perfect Edible Gingerbread Playdough
Embrace the festive spirit with our edible gingerbread playdough recipe – a perfect blend of fun and creativity for kids! This isn’t just an ordinary playdough; it’s also an edible cookie dough. By learning how to make playdough that is also a cookie dough, you’ll be adding an extra sprinkle of excitement to your child’s sensory play.
Stick around as we share our top tips and tricks to ensure your playdough turns out perfect every single time. With this gingerbread playdough recipe, your holiday season is about to get a whole lot sweeter.
As the scent of holidays fills the air, there’s no better time to introduce our gingerbread playdough recipe. This homemade playdough is not only a delightful sensory experience but also a fantastic educational tool.
Made from simple ingredients found in your kitchen, this playdough is as much fun to make as it is to play with.
The texture is smooth and pliable, perfect for little hands to shape and mold. It carries the nostalgic, warm aroma of gingerbread, making it an instant hit in any classroom setting.
It’s quite versatile, too, as we will share loads of ways to use this gingerbread playdough in your learning activities this Christmas season. In fact, you can use this playdough with our Christmas Alphabet Activities pack.
So let’s roll up our sleeves and get ready to create some holiday magic with this gingerbread playdough recipe! It’s just one of many amazing playdough recipes you can find in our ebook, too!
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45 Playdough Recipes$3.00
Why Make Edible Gingerbread Playdough Recipe
Playdough is a popular resource in early childhood education, and for good reason.
Its malleable nature serves as an excellent medium to hone fine motor skills and build hand strength, prerequisites for developing pencil grasp and mastering letter formation. As such, I make it a point to incorporate playdough activities into each of my preschool themes, adding a touch of fun to learning.
Now, imagine coupling the benefits of playdough with the tantalizing aroma of gingerbread spices.
The result?
A sensory experience that not only encourages creativity but also stimulates the olfactory senses, enhancing the overall play experience.
But what sets this gingerbread playdough recipe apart from others is its dual purpose.
Once the children have had their fill of molding and shaping, this playdough can be transformed into scrumptious cookies! What a fun way to complete your gingerbread sensory play!
Incorporating this gingerbread playdough recipe into your holiday activities will offer an unforgettable experience for your preschoolers.
What to Make with Gingerbread Playdough
While this may not be your traditional gingerbread playdough recipe, there is still lots of fun to be had with it.
Preschoolers will enjoy rolling out the playdough, among other things. Encourages your preschooler to experience the playdough by trying any of the following fine motor skills:
- rolling into snakes
- rolling into balls
- smooshing into pancakes
- poking
- pinching
- squeezing
- twisting
- picking
This post by the OT Toolbox explains all the benefits of playdough and how it impacts fine motor skills.
How to Make Playdough More Fun
You can add all sorts of kitchen utensils to make playdough even more fun. All these things help promote hand strength and fine motor skills, too!
- 6 DIFFERENT TOOLS — This set includes 6 dough extruders with different patterns: triangle, heart,…
- MADE TO LAST — These dough tools are made of chunky, durable plastic in 6 different colors: yellow,…
- NON-TOXIC & KID-FRIENDLY — All materials are tested to comply with CPSIA and ASTM standards. Tested…
- 6 DIFFERENT TOOLS — This set of dough and clay tools includes a rolling pin, roller with handle,…
- MADE TO LAST — These art supplies are made of chunky, durable plastic. They’ll last for years of…
- NON-TOXIC & KID-FRIENDLY –These clay tools are made of non-toxic materials. Engage kids in crafts…
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.
If you’re looking for a more classic playdough recipe for the holiday season, then try this Christmas Playdough.
Gingerbread Playdough That Doubles as Cookies
This is not only a gingerbread playdough recipe but also a cookie recipe. Ok…it’s really a cookie recipe that can also be manipulated like playdough. The best part is cutting out the cookies and baking them after playing!
The recipe doesn’t call for eggs, which is what makes it ok to nibble on.
Unlike other playdough recipes on my site (with the exception of my marshmallow playdough recipe), this one is not only taste-safe but also edible. Your little one can eat a raw golf-ball size of dough and it will not harm her one bit, but it might give her some sugar induced energy!
Gingerbread Playdough Recipe
Get ready to spice up your festive season with our edible gingerbread playdough recipe.
We also have this edible peanut butter playdough recipe that can be rolled and dipped in chocolate to make truffles.
This isn’t just an ordinary playdough; it’s also a cookie recipe! Assuming your preschooler has washed their hands prior to play, and that the playdough tools and table are clean, this dough can been baked into gingerbread cookies.
Ingredients
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- powdered ginger
- cinnamon
- allspice
- ground cloves
- ground nutmeg
- sugar
- butter (room temperature)
- honey
- molasses
How to Make Gingerbread Playdough
Gingerbread playdough is a fun, sensory-rich activity perfect for the holiday season. Not only does it smell amazing, but it’s also completely safe for little ones to play with and taste.
Step 1: Mix Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg together into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Step 2: Cream Sugar and Butter
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until soft and creamy.
When the butter is thoroughly worked in, slowly add the honey and molasses and mix on low until well blended.
Step 3: Incorporate Dry Ingredients
Gradually add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, mixing slowly to incorporate all the flour. The dough should start pull away from the bowl. If there is an excess of flour, turn out the dough on a floured counter top and gently kneed until fully blended.
Step 4: Time to Play
Then, invite your preschooler to play!
Once your preschooler is done playing, follow the remaining instructions to turn them this gingerbread playdough recipe into the most delicious gingerbread cookies.
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45 Playdough Recipes$3.00
Turn Gingerbread Playdough into Cookies
Roll into a ball and pat into a disc. Refrigerate for an hour, or longer if possible. This dough can be made several days in advance and the longer the dough rests the more time it has to set up and develop flavors.
Preheat the over to 350°. Then prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll the dough out about 1/8 inch thick on a floured board or between sheets of waxed paper. Cut it into the shapes of gingerbread men or other holiday shapes.
Bake for 12-15 minutes and allow to cool on a cookie rack. Once cookie are completely cooled, use any assortment of holiday frosting and sprinkles to decorate them.
Or, enjoy them plain!
Gingerbread Playdough Activities
Get ready to bring a festive twist to your playtime with gingerbread playdough activities!
These hands-on, sensory-rich activities are not only fun-filled but also a fantastic way to boost creativity and fine motor skills in an engaging, holiday-themed manner.
- 5 Little Gingerbread Man Printable
- Gingerbread Playdough Shape Mats
- Gingerbread Playdough Invitation to Play
- Gingerbread Sequencing Playdough Mats
- Gingerbread Counting Playdough Mats
More Playdough Recipes to Try
This collection of 45 playdough recipes bridges the gap between nostalgic classics that echo your grandmother’s beloved recipe and innovative modern concoctions that offer an unmatchable playdough texture.
Whether you’re a dedicated educator or a parent seeking engaging home activities, this eBook is the ultimate resource to bring creativity, learning, and fun into young children’s hands, making it an indispensable addition to every early childhood classroom or home setting.
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45 Playdough Recipes$3.00
Gingerbread Man Children’s Books
Integrating fun gingerbread man children’s books into a preschool theme can be an exciting way to engage little learners. With a variety of books available, teachers can create immersive thematic activities related to the beloved gingerbread man…even when using gingerbread playdough!
- THE GINGERBREAD MAN: Featuring 32 pages of fresh, captivating illustrations, this 8″ x 8″ story book…
- CLASSIC STORIES: This classic retold tale captures a child’s interest, page after page, as they take…
- BENEFITS: Easy-to-follow story books are an excellent skill-building resource for reading…
- Hardcover Book
- Nolte, Nancy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Murray, Laura (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Gail Yerrill (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Murray, Laura (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Gingerbread Playdough Recipe
This dual-purpose gingerbread recipe can be baked into delectable gingerbread cookies, offering a fun-filled crafting experience followed by a tasty treat!
Materials
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 350°. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg together into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until soft and creamy. When the butter is thoroughly worked in, slowly add the honey and molasses and mix on low until well blended.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a well-mixed dough.
- Refrigerate for an hour, or longer if possible.
- Roll the dough out about 1/8 inch thick on a floured board or between sheets of waxed paper. Cut it into the shapes of gingerbread men or other holiday shapes.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute, then finish cooling on cake racks.
Notes
This dough can be made several days in advance and the longer the dough rests the more time it has to set up and develop flavors.
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I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
This was so fun! I especially enjoyed allowing my children to be able to eat a little of the dough. Thanks for sharing.
I’m new to this pintrest stuff. I think I left a message to someone who pinned your felt Nativity. It’s a great project. I teach toddlers at a Christian preschool. I’m going to make this for my class. You website is awesome I will be checking back often to see what ideas I can use in my classroom. Thanks for all the great ideas.
Cathy