Salt water taffy

Making taffy is super fun. I will warn you though, your arms will get quite the workout. Especially if you cook it to about 265. Mine got really tough after a few minutes and by the end of the 20 minutes of stretching I was starting to sweat and my arms were starting to shake. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad! Just look at it like.. you're burning the calories for what you're about to eat. That works! And you'll need that motto because this taffy is addictive.

If the stretching part seems intimidating, don't let it! It really is the best part and quite fun. I stretched it long (like a snake), brought the ends together to form a big circle, squished both sides together, folded it in half (see first stretching picture above), then stretched it long again and repeated. Do what feels right to you, it'd be hard to mess up.

Yum!

Salt water taffy
Yields approx. 50 pieces/1.5 pounds
adapted from here. Ms Humble also did it here
2 cups sugar
2 T. Cornstarch
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
2 T. margarine/butter
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Flavoring oil
(I didn't have flavoring oil so I used a tablespoon or more of Mint extract)


Prepare a heat safe dish by lightly buttering it. If you are making more than one flavor, prep said amount of dishes. Also lightly butter a spatula for each flavor. And have each flavor and food color ready.

In a saucepan, sift together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in corn syrup, water, salt and margarine. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover pan and bring to a boil for 2 or 3 minutes. Uncover, place thermometer in pan and cook to 256 - 266 degrees F. The lower temperature will result in a chewier taffy, the higher a more brittle texture. Remove from heat and add food color and flavoring. Stir gently, pour into prepared dish/pan.

When cool enough to handle, grease hands and pull the warm candy with fingertips, pulling out to about 12 inches at first. Quickly turn candy back from fingertips of one hand to the other hand, then catch center and pull again. This will incorporate air into the candy. Continue pulling until taffy is light in color and has a satiny gloss, about twenty minutes. Pull into a long rope, cut with greased scissors and wrap in waxed paper squares, twisting ends.

p.s. the color of the taffy was identical to this pretty nail polish so i had to put them side by side.