Salt Water Taffy

Saltwater taffy is one of those things we eat as a kid and usually forget about as an adult. This summer if you have any children over the age of 7, that would like a fun thing to do and eat, this recipe is for you. The fun comes from the stretching of the saltwater taffy. Just be careful to make sure it’s cooled down to a reasonably safe temperature before beginning to stretch. In the end, you should have a lovely batch of saltwater taffy.

Ingredients:

• two cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 a cup of water
• 9 oz light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  food dye
• 2 tablespoons of butter and extra

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, water, and corn syrup into a large pot.
2. Heat on low and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Then turn the heat to medium and let it slowly come to a boil. Check the temperature with a candy thermometer and once it reaches 255 degrees Fahrenheit stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour into separate metal containers or saucepans and add food dye. The number of containers is equal to the number of different colors you would like to make your taffy. If you just want to make one color, it can remain in the pot. Be sure to stir well and add plenty of food dye as the color fades once stretched.
5. Butter a small oven dish well and add one color to the oven dish. You will need to do this for each color you intend to make of taffy. It’s a lot simpler if you just do one color at a time.
6. As your taffy cools lay out some baking parchment and rub butter all over it. Next to the parchment paper keep room temperature butter ready so that you can keep your hands buttered while you stretch the taffy. Wait 15 to 20 minutes until the taffy is cool enough to handle and hold its shape. This is really important if working with children that the taffy is cool enough to handle even when pulled apart. A precaution to take is for the adult to pull the taffy one or two times until reasonably sure it’s cool enough for a child to handle.
7. Pick up the taffy and stretch it then fold it back in on itself. Make sure to keep your hands buttered at all times or else the taffy will stick to them. Do this until the taffy is lighter in color and becomes much firmer so that it can hold its shape.
8. Once it is quite firm, roll the taffy into long ropes. If you have more than one color, you can wrap them around each other. And place on the buttered parchment paper. Take a buttered pizza cutter and make pieces of taffy.
9. Once you have finished cutting the taffy into pieces, you can wrap each piece into a square of parchment paper and twist the ends. Let the taffy set overnight before consuming.

Tips:

• Taffy pulling can get pretty messy, so make sure you have plenty of parchment paper to put the taffy on. In the beginning it falls quickly if it’s warm enough and can hit the table. Make sure all of the table is covered with parchment paper and all of the parchment paper is buttered.
• This is a lot of fun if you make 2-3 different colors, and you have 2-3 different kids to pull the taffy. The kids laugh and have a lot of fun. At the end during the cutting, an older child can help with that using the pizza cutter or serrated knife. If you make a lot of taffy, putting it in the parchment paper requires a crew and the children help with that too.
• To be extra creative you can add flavorings when you add the vanilla extract. Although the vanilla extract will impart flavor, other flavors can be used such as Maple syrup extract, banana extract, cinnamon extract, and multiple other flavors you can find in your baking aisle.
• Taffy will last in its wrapped parchment paper for up to a year. It can be kept in a candy dish or a freezer during hot summer months.