Softest Chocolate Play Dough Recipe (2024)

Do your kids love to play with play dough? You can use this easy chocolate play dough recipe in a variety of different ways in your classroom.Your little learners will have a blast creating special Valentine treats with this delicious smelling dough.Play dough is also a great way to incorporate fine motor practice and provide opportunities for developing creativity and imagination in your classroom.

Softest Chocolate Play Dough Recipe

Play dough is an important part of any high-quality early childhood experience. But opening those little yellow cans of store bought dough often leads to disappointment and headaches for teachers. You see, the store bought dough is often dried out before you ever open the can, and can crumble quickly. Nothing irks a preschooler more than dried out, crumbly play dough! That’s why I prefer to make my own dough, it’s more cost-effective, softer, and lasts much longer than store bought brands when stored properly.

If you want happier, more engaged preschoolers – try making your own dough. Making different types of dough is perfect for keeping kids interested and engaged at your play dough center all year long.

You can easily breathe new life into your play dough center by adding different props and tools every few weeks.

Chocolate Playdough Recipe

This chocolate playdough recipe is super easy, if I can make it anybody can! It’s a chocolate twist on my easy DIY homemade playdough recipe.

Best Chocolate Play Dough Recipe: Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp. cream of tartar (I buy this in bulk to save money)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

This recipe makes a big batch of play dough, enough for 4-6 children to easily play with and share.

You can also add some buttons, beads, or similar materials your kids can use to decorate their chocolate cupcakes.

How Do You Make Chocolate Play Dough?

First, pour all wet and dry ingredients into a saucepan and cook on low heat while stirring and mixing.

When the mixture starts to thicken and resemble dough, remove from the heat and let cool. When cool, knead the dough until it is smooth.

Remind your children that playdough isn’t for eating. If your kids like to put things in their mouths then you will need to provide close supervision or choose another activity.

Chocolate Play Dough Troubleshooting

If your dough feels too sticky, add more flour, if it feels too dry, then add more water or vegetable oil. There are many different variables that will effect the outcome of your dough such as your elevation, type of water (hard or soft), type of flour, temperature of stove etc. Cooking is an experiment that can have different results every time, it’s not an exact science.

This cooked play dough recipe couldn’t be easier, it makes a high-quality dough that will last a long time if stored in an air-tight container after each use.

Pro Tip: You can make your play dough last even longer if you put your airtight container in the refrigerator when not in use.

Irresistible Chocolate Play Dough

Now you’re ready to have fun with your chocolate play dough!

Play Dough Tools to Use

• empty Valentine chocolate boxes
• silicone cupcake liners
• heart shaped cookie cutters
• rolling pins
• tongs

The tongs I used came with an Easter egg dying kit I bought years ago; they’re perfect for practicing fine motor skills.

You can recycle chocolate boxes for even more play dough fun!

Children can roll balls of dough to represent chocolates and then use the tongs to transfer the chocolates to the candy box.

The rolling pin also offers great opportunities for fine motor practice; use the heart cookie cutters to make chocolate hearts.

When to Use Chocolate Play Dough

You can easily add chocolate to your play dough center for a Valentine’s Day theme.

Another theme that could be enhanced with chocolate play dough is the flower shop dramatic play scenario. Flowers and chocolate are synonamous with Valentine’s Day!

More Valentine’s Day Ideas

There are so many activities that you can incorporate into your classroom for Valentine’s Day! You can incorporate the holiday into yourmath activityliteracy activityor usebooks to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Your students will also love this activity where they get to decorate Valentine’s Day cookies.

Alight table activityis also a great way to center the lesson around Valentine’s Day.When your kids are picking up and manipulating the plastic hearts on the light table they’ll be engaging in sensory play and developing those important fine motor skills too!

Your pre-K or kindergarten students could also work on their sight words during the holiday as well.UsingValentine card sight wordsis a highly engaging and fun activity can help your pre-k or kindergarten students get even more excited to practice their sight words.

You could also incorporate songs into the holiday. You can singValentine songsduringcircle time,transitions, or whenever your kids just need to refocus and get their wiggles out!

More Play Dough Recipes And Activities

If you like this chocolate play dough recipe, then you may also enjoy these similar play dough activities:

• Gingerbread Playdough Recipe
• Snowman Play Dough
• Homemade Playdough Recipe

And with any play dough activity,Printable Play Dough Mats are very helpful.

More Activities