Sometimes, I really miss my childhood.
Face it, being an adult sucks. But you all knew that.
I like that my only responsibility as a kid was to not consume Play Doh, and if I did, I wasn’t educated on the laundry list of potential symptoms, illnesses or diseases I could contract if I ingested the funny-scented putty dough.
Or that I could play Barbies any time during the day except during dinner… which was a hearty pepperoni pizza Lunchable. Speaking of Lunchables, I never understood their weird cookie-like pizza dough. Do you remember that? No wonder the nachos were my favorite.
In fact, I would still play Barbies if it were socially acceptable.
But if anyone found out I was hoarding plastic dolls in my room and taking immense pleasure in dressing them up in cute fashions and staging their houses exactly to my liking, they’d probably worry. And unfriend me immediately.
I’d be branded “The Barbie Girl” and not in a good way.
And then my only friends would be my twelve inch-tall Barbies with their frozen facial expressions and their rubbery legs. They’d know all of my secrets. And I could play with them every day after work, while eating a more grown-up version of my pepperoni pizza cookie Lunchable.
Have I thought too far into this?
Maybe. But childhood toys are awesome.
I have fond memories of building Lego houses and creating a space in my grandma’s garage we deemed “Town.” I was the mayor of town, and it was a totally responsible and awesome job. If I remember correctly, I had a two story house and a Mercedes Benz Hot Wheel in my garage.
Now that’s mayor-status.
And when my siblings and our neighborhood friends would spend hours every night after dinner playing freeze tag among all our yards. Or worse, a horribly-named game called “Orphanage” in which me and my neighbor cohorts pretended to be runaway orphans, snacking on leaves that were probably poisonous and running between our yards, most likely on a poisonous-leaf-induced craze to play a poorly created game.
And oh yeah, the Play Doh.
How come it always smelled so funny? Sweet and appetizing, almost. I’d really like to know about how many Play Doh-induced sicknesses there were, because I definitely have a story to add to this.
I remember one neighbor girl in particular and I used to play constantly. Play Doh was, at one point, one of our favorites. And one day, on a whim, I dared her to ingest a delicious looking, kaleidoscopic Play Doh ball. And she did.
I love being bossy and having people listen!
So she ate the Doh ball, but sadly, the story ends after she spit it out, made a series of hideously contorted facial expressions, and began crying from the not-so-edible taste in her mouth. Then she went home, which secretly made me happy because we were about to play Barbies next and she always tried to steal my good outfits.
She had it coming from all that fashionable Barbie outfit thievery, if you ask me.
Recently, while at a friend’s house (an adult friend, mind you) I spotted some Play Doh. Guess what, it’s not nearly as fun when you’re older and far less imaginative than you were when you were seven.
But it reminded me of the possibilities, and so I started research about doing some Play Doh cookies of my own.
And guess what? There really is such an edible thing!
Hence, Play Dough Cookies were born. They’re made of a sugar cookie base and a cinch to make, thanks largely to the pre-packaged sugar cookie mix. Of course, you can use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, but if you’re short on time or eager to eat something identical to Play Doh (I won’t ask) then my recipe works best.
Ready to sink your teeth into the (delicious) past?
Play Dough Cookies
1 box sugar cookie mix (I used Krusteaz), plus ingredients on back of box
Wilton food coloring gels (I used three colors, but you can use as many as you want … just make sure they make sense–all brights, all pastels, all primary, etc)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets with cooking spray, then blot with a paper towel. (If you don’t blot, your cookies will spread… no bueno). Prepare cookies according to package directions, using the Sugar Cookie Cut-Out method (this usually means adding extra flour to the batter–for this particular mix, it was 1/4 cup). Once a dough has formed, divide dough evenly into three small bowls (or more, if using more colors).
2. Tint each bowl a different color of your choice. I used purple, pink and lemon yellow. On a floured surface, and using floured fingers, grab a small piece of each color of dough. Push all of the dough balls together, to form a color-block ball (in other words, if you’re using three colors, make it look like a peace sign; do not smash all the colors together or layer them–you want them to be side by side, like a tri-colored hacky sack). Using your floured palms, gently roll the colored ball into a large rope. On one end, begin coiling the rope to form a swirl. Place on baking sheet.
3. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are a light golden brown and cookies are set. Cool on pan for about 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
I’ve seen some ideas of inserting a lollypop stick into the dough before baking–looks adorable, and they’d make excellent favors for parties.
You could also sprinkle colored sanding sugars on top of your dough for some sparkle.
Who doesn’t like sparkle? People who don’t like Play Doh, that’s who.
Or people who have no taste, in which I do not know you and do not wish to know you.
Enjoy these cookies, and Happy Father’s Day!
xo, Hayley
Tagged: cookies
