Tricolortaffy Recipes

GRANDMA'S TAFFY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the butter, salt, corn syrup and water; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to mix in butter. Heat to 275 degrees F (134 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped from a spoon forms hard but pliable threads.
• Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla, flavored extract and food coloring. Pour into a greased 8x8 inch baking dish. When cooled enough to handle, remove candy from the pan, and pull until it loses its shine and becomes stiff. Pull into ropes, and use scissors to cut into 1 inch pieces. Wrap each piece in waxed paper.

MOLASSES TAFFY

Steps:

• Place the molasses in a heavy aluminum saucepan or unlined copper saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the molasses reaches the hard-ball stage on a candy thermometer (250 to 266 degrees.) Remove it from the stove and add the butter and vanilla, stirring to mix them in. Pour the candy out onto a well greased piece of confectioner's marble or a well-greased heavy platter or baking sheet and allow it to stand until the candy begins to get hard around the edges. Moisten your hands with ice water. Take a 1/2 cup size ball of taffy into both hands and pull it back and forth until the taffy changes color and becomes golden. When the taffy begins to harden, twist it or braid it into sticks, tie it into knots, or shape it as desired.

TAFFY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, place all the ingredients except extracts, and gently stir them to combine. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan and bring to a boil, stirring only to prevent burning. Cook to hardball stage (265 to 270 degrees), remove from the heat, stir in the extracts, and pour onto a silpat-lined sheet pan or buttered sheet pan. Let it cool enough to handle then start rolling it into a log and stretching or pulling the taffy to work air in and make it white and opaque. Keep pulling and twisting until it hardens. Form long ropes of taffy, then cut them into pieces.
• Some tips when making taffy: Oil the top 1-inch of the saucepan's wall to keep the sugar from boiling over. Always use a pan bigger than you think you need to prevent boiling over. Always use a burner as big or bigger than your pan's bottom. Never scrape the bottom of the pan at the end, just pour out the syrup. Wash down the sides of the pan with a clean wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization.

CHOCOLATE TAFFY

Steps:

• In heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add corn syrup, water, and vinegar to pan and place over medium heat. Stir until sugar and cocoa dissolve, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, clip candy thermometer to side of pan and cook until mixture reaches 260 degrees F. Remove pan from heat, add the butter and stir. Butter edges of sheet pan, line with silicone baking sheet and pour on taffy. Allow to cool until you are able to handle it.
• Once you are able to handle the taffy, don vinyl gloves, butter them, and begin to fold taffy in thirds using the silicone mat. Pick up taffy and begin to pull folding the taffy back on itself repeatedly twisting as you go. Taffy is done when it lightens in color, takes on a sheen, and becomes too hard to pull. Roll into log, cut into fourths, roll each fourth into a 1-inch wide log, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Making sure to keep pieces separated or they will stick to each other. Wrap individual pieces of candy in waxed paper. Store in airtight container 3 to 5 days.

TRICOLOR TAFFY

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt. Swirl the pot over the burner to dissolve the sugar completely, do not stir. Increase the heat and boil to soft-ball stage (250 degrees). Use a candy thermometer for accuracy. Wash down the inside wall of the pot with a wet pastry brush if necessary. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and vanilla.
• Coat 3 sheet pans with nonstick spray. Pour the mixture onto the sheet pans, dividing in 3 equal portions. Mix the peppermint extract and a couple of drops of green food coloring in 1 batch. Mix the orange extract and a couple of drops of yellow food coloring in another batch. Leave the plain vanilla batch as is. As the candy cools, lift the edges toward the center with a metal spatula or bench scraper so they don't harden. When just cool enough to handle, butter your hands and pull the taffy into long ropes. Twist and pull until the taffy is stiff and the color is even. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces with clean, buttered kitchen scissors. Wrap each piece in waxed paper and store in an airtight container.

ORANGE TAFFY

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, combine first four ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil and cook until a candy thermometer reads 245° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; gradually add cream and butter. Return to the heat; cook and stir until mixture reaches 245° again., Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in. pan; cool. When cool enough to handle, roll into 1/2-in. logs or 1-in. balls. Wrap individually in foil or waxed paper; twist ends.

ANY FLAVOR TAFFY

Steps:

• Butter 2 large baking sheets, and set them aside.
• In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add corn syrup, water, butter and salt, and stir to blend. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until the mixture reads 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in the drink mix powder. Quickly pour out onto the prepared baking sheets, and let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Grab a few helpers, and butter everyone's hands. Stretch (pull) the taffy until it lightens in color, and becomes firm. Roll into bite size pieces, and wrap in small squares of waxed paper.

SALTWATER TAFFY RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Add the sugar to a large pot fitted with a candy thermometer. Sift in the cornstarch and whisk into the sugar until well-combined. Add the butter, corn syrup, salt, water, vanilla, and flavor extract of choice to the pot. Whisk to combine, then turn the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches 250°F (120°C).
• Add the food coloring and stir to combine.
• Pour the candy into a greased heatproof dish and cool until you are able to handle it, 5-10 minutes.
• Stretch the mixture out 12 inches (30 cm) (or further) and fold it over itself again and again for 10-15 minutes. The taffy will turn from translucent to opaque.
• When the taffy becomes harder to pull, roll it to about a 30-inch (76-cm) long and 1-inch (2-cm) thick log on a greased surface. Cut the log in half. Then slice the taffy into bite-size chunks.
• Wrap each piece of taffy in a square of parchment paper and twist the ends to seal.
• Enjoy!

TWIG TAFFY

Steps:

• Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. In a medium nonstick saucepan, combine sugar, 1 cup water, corn syrup, cornstarch, glycerin, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Without stirring, cook until mixture registers 275 degrees (soft-crack stage) on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat; carefully stir in butter and extracts.
• Pour hot mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Allow edges to cool and set slightly; using a metal spatula coated with cooking spray, fold edges toward the middle (this will help cool taffy). When taffy is cool enough to handle but still quite warm, stretch and pull with lightly buttered fingers, folding the taffy over onto itself before pulling again until just starting to firm up, about 20 minutes.
• Before taffy cools and hardens too much, pull off ropelike pieces, and using kitchen scissors, make snips along sides. Gently stretch and pull snipped taffy on either end, forming thorny twigs. Snip into 7-inch lengths. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; let cool.

OLD-TIME TAFFY PULL

Steps:

• Butter one 8 inch square pan; set aside.
• In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, cornstarch and salt. Mix together well and bring to a boil. Heat without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, almond extract, almonds and food color. Pour into pan. Let stand until cool enough to handle. (Taffy should be lukewarm in center as well as at the edges.)
• At this point, fold, double and pull the taffy until it is light in color and stiff. Butter hands lightly if taffy begins to stick. Cut taffy into pieces with scissors and wrap the pieces with plastic wrap to maintain shape.

BUTTERSCOTCH TAFFY

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, marshmallows, water and salt; cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Add chips; stir until melted. Pour into a buttered 8-in. square dish; cool. Cut into 1-in. squares. Wrap individually in waxed paper; twist ends.