November Playdough of the Month: Pumpkin Spiced Marshmallow Dough

Candied yams (well, sweet potatoes probably) with an ooey, gooey glaze of toasted marshmallows. Delectable pumpkin pie spiced to perfection. Two Thanksgiving staples in many households. If we're being perfectly honest, I was never a huge fan of either, but they were hallmarks of the season through my formative years, and together, they were the inspiration for this months playdough: Pumpkin Spiced Marshmallow Dough.

We essentially made a very basic marshmallow fondant and added pumpkin spice seasoning. Ours was a simple recipe with only four ingredients: marshmallows, powdered sugar, pumpkin spice, and water (not pictures).

Marshmallow fondant can be somewhat tricky to work with, especially in large quantities, so we decided to make a very small batch. We started with 2 cups of mini marshmallows and 1 tablespoon of water. These were microwaved for 30 seconds, stirred, then microwaved another 30 seconds. Vance enjoyed watching them puff up in the microwave, and carefully stirred out the marshmallow lumps when we were finished heating them.

Vance then added a few good shakes of pumpkin spice, and stirred that in as well.

By then, the bowl had cooled enough for Edward to handle, so he got to help stir in the powdered sugar.

Having learned our lesson the last time, we added small amounts at a time until we reached kneading consistency. We ended up using about 1 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, plus a bit extra to work it on the tabletop.

Not that the sugar reserved for kneading lasted that long....

At any rate, our fondant was moved from the bowl to the table, and worked until we had a nice stretchy, if somewhat stiff, dough. It wasn't too stiff to play with, though, so play we did. Vance periodically added more pumpkin spice to his share, and it worked just fine, especially since he spent so much of his time pounding the dough.

Edward wound up seeing how many tiny pieces he could divide his portion into, and eventually started eating them. They must have been pretty good, as he kept sneaking taste after taste. Vance tried a nibble too, and seemed to like it, though he didn't seem to find it as irrresistible as Edward did.

We've stored our playdough in the fridge (in an airtight container, which should go without saying) to keep it longer, and like any marshmallow fondant, it needs worked for a bit before its really pliable again. We've really enjoyed it, though I'm not sure how much longer it will last, as Edward is determined to eat it all.

Going on a Lantern Walk

As the days grow shorter, darker, and colder, the gnomes in Super Sam's forest are hard at work preparing for winter. This week, though, they took a brief respite from their labors for some festivities, and celebrated the light that would carry them through the deep dark of winter with a lantern walk.

We spent several days making lanterns for our own lantern walk. Because I am brave, or possibly because I am crazy, we went with the very messy (but oh so fun) paper mâché method of lantern-making. Yes, it was messy. Yes, I did have my moments of regret, like when Edward upended deliberately his bowl of flour and water in the name of having a Ggood Time (he and I have slghtly different definitions of "Good Time" here), and he had to take a break for a bit. Yes, even the boys were a bit hesitant about getting their hands goopy, at least in the beginning.

Towels and paint shirts went a long way toward containing the mess (and my sanity), and their hesitancy didn't last long. It wasn't long before Vance and Edward were happily, messily constructing luminaries of their own.

Phew!

On the night of our Lantern Walk, we prepared a crock pot full of warm, creamy soup, then bundled up to brave the cold. Our lanterns were lit with LED candles, and the boys even held themselves back long enough for me to snap a couple of pictures.

Then we were off, wandering about neighborhood, singing songs and lighting our way with our homemade lamps. Before we got too cold (or too cranky) we returned home and warmed up with hot soup. Such a fun night!