One of my favorite parts about doing sensory play during the summer months is that we can take the mess outdoors.
Now cloud dough is just one of those messy sensory play recipes that I think is best enjoyed outdoors. It gets everywhere. Kind of like rice sensory bins...But taking it outdoors means way less clean up for me. And less stress.
I thought it would be fun to make a delicious chocolate and peppermint scented cloud dough recipe for my kids to enjoy. It's a classic combo of scents and flavors. The final result smells heavenly by the way.
Since computer screens aren't equipped with scratch and sniff technology, you might have to try this chocolate peppermint cloud dough recipe yourself. Which obviously you were thinking about doing. I mean you're here reading this right now after all.
Chocolate Peppermint Cloud Dough Recipe: What You'll Need
To whip up this delightfully peppermint and chocolate scented cloud dough recipe, you're going to need a few things from your pantry. You'll need:
- 7 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup cocoa powder or hot chocolate mix
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- Peppermint extract - Add enough until it smells good...that's how I roll at least.
You'll of course also need a large plastic sensory tub/container (or similar) and maybe some fun tools to make the final bin more enticing. You might add some scoops. Maybe some measuring spoons and cups. Or try some stamps or cookie cutters...anything goes when it comes to this peppermint and chocolate cloud dough sensory bin.
How to Make Chocolate Cloud Dough Scented with Peppermint
To make the cloud dough recipe, simply mix everything together until it's well incorporated. You can mix it by hand, (that's what I did) or you can use a stand mixer if you'd prefer.
Now I should point out that I only happened to have 1/4 cup of cocoa powder on hand so I ended up using hot chocolate mix primarily for the batch you see pictured. So really this is peppermint and hot cocoa cloud dough. Honestly though, hot cocoa and cocoa powder are similar enough that you can use either or so use what you've got like I did.
Sadly, the cloud dough didn't turn out as chocolately in color as I had hoped or envisioned it would. Darn flour diluting everything! Besides, like my boys really care what it looked like. They were just excited to dive in and play.
However, this cloud dough smelled delightful. Almost good enough to eat...although, I wouldn't suggest doing that.
One final note here...We actually used 2 drops of peppermint essential oil to scent our cloud dough. That's because that's what we had on hand. However, you do have to be careful with this particular essential oil with little kids. So it's best to use peppermint extract if you have it and I would recommend that you go that route instead using essential oils.
Time for a Little Sensory Play with Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cloud Dough!
Once your cloud dough is made, add it to a large plastic tub or sensory container. Add some measuring spoons or cups, if you'd like. Then it's time for some good old hands-on play.
The boys really loved scooping the mixture and putting it inside some empty plastic applesauce cups. I like to keep these cups handy for a variety of activities, including sensory play activities like this.
Similar to any other cloud dough recipe, this chocolate peppermint concoction can easily be molded into different shapes. Fill it up and pat it in tight.
Now flip the cup of cloud dough upside down and get ready for the reveal...
Ta-da! It's basically like building a sandcastle on the beach. A delicious smelling chocolate and peppermint sandcastle...mmm...
Like any good cloud dough recipe, things can get a bit messy. Thankfully, we did this sensory bin in the middle of summer so we were able to enjoy it outside and keep the mess outside.
However, this cloud dough sensory play would be absolutely perfect for Christmas as well. Especially if you pair it with some Christmas cookie cutters. After all, peppermint mixed with chocolate is like Christmas heaven.
Besides, hot cocoa (aka hot chocolate) is a Christmas/winter staple. And we happened to use a lot of hot chocolate mix to make this cloud dough recipe in the first place.
So what do you think? Will you be giving this chocolate peppermint cloud dough recipe a try?
