Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (2024)

Homemade Taffy is easy to make and gets the kids involved. Welcome to our Sweet Shoppe! If you are alarmed by red dye, excessive amounts of sugar and underage workers turn away now!

Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (1)

If not, stick around and see how we made loads of homemade taffy!

Related: What kid would not want to make this? How To Make Gummy Candy

Kids love to be involved! They will have a great experience with this hands-on recipe.

Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (2)

Homemade Taffy Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup light corn syrup

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons butter (plus lots extra to butter hands, we probably used over 1/2 of a stick of butter on our hands)

1 teaspoon salt

1 – .21oz (6g) package of unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid) (we used cherry)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Steps for making the Homemade Taffy

  • Butter a large jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet with sides really well.
  • In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch.
  • Add corn syrup, water, butter, and salt and stir well until butter is melted.
  • Bring to a boil over medium heat and stop stirring. Cook the mixture until the candy thermometer read 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). This takes some time to get it to 250 degrees. Once the temperature approaches 250 degrees, watch very closely because it cooks quickly at the end.
  • Immediately remove from heat.
  • Carefully stir in vanilla and drink mix.
  • Stir well. We should have stirred ours more– notice some bits of drink mix (dark spots) on our taffy.
  • Pour mixture onto a buttered baking pan.
  • Allow it to cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

Directions For Pulling The Taffy

  • Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, butter hands and begin pulling. (It starts kind of translucent)
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (3)
  • Then pull…and pull…butter hands again…pull…
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (4)
  • and stretch…pull…more hand buttering…pull…
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (5)
  • It will become more opaque and lighten in color depending on the attention span of your workers!
  • This takes about 10-15 minutes of pulling.
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (6)
  • Pull into long ropes and cut with buttered scissors.
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  • and cut!
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  • Wrap pieces of taffy in pieces of waxed paper
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (9)
  • and give it a good twist on each end.
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (10)
  • Finished!
Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (11)

Sweet!!

Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (12)

Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (13)

Homemade Taffy Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling and Pulling Time 30 minutes minutes

Save RecipePrint Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons butter plus lots extra to butter hands, we probably used over 1/2 of a stick of butter on our hands
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 package unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid) (We used Cherry)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  • Butter a large jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet with sides really well.

  • In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch.

  • Add corn syrup, water, butter, and salt and stir well until butter is melted.

  • Bring to a boil over medium heat and stop stirring. Cook the mixture until the candy thermometer read 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). This takes some time to get it to 250 degrees. Once the temperature approaches 250 degrees, watch very closely because it cooks quickly at the end.

  • Immediately remove from heat.

  • Carefully stir in vanilla and drink mix.

  • Stir well. We should have stirred ours more– notice some bits of drink mix (dark spots) on our taffy.

  • Pour mixture onto a buttered baking pan.

  • Allow it to cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

  • Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, butter hands, and begin pulling. (It starts kind of translucent)

  • Then pull…and pull…butter hands again…pull… and stretch…pull…more hand buttering…pull…

  • It will become opaquer and lighten in color.

  • This takes about 10-15 minutes of pulling.

  • Pull into long ropes and cut with buttered scissors.

  • Wrap pieces of taffy in pieces of waxed paper and give it a good twist on each end.

Nutrition

Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 0.01g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 1mg | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.01mg

Servings: 36

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Cindy Hopper

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Are you laughing as you make your taffy?

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Categories: Recipes, Sweets

About Cindy Hopper

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Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (2024)

FAQs

How long does homemade taffy last? ›

Does salt water taffy expire? Yes, taffy can go bad and generally expires six months after purchase. Homemade taffy expires even sooner and only lasts 3-7 days.

What makes taffy chewy? ›

Modern commercial taffy is made primarily from corn syrup, glycerin and butter. The pulling process, which makes the candy lighter and chewier, consists of stretching out the mixture, folding it over, and stretching it again.

How do you harden salt water taffy? ›

The best solution to melted taffy is merely to let it set unbothered at room temperature (72 for a period of 24 hours.

What is the difference between salt water taffy and regular taffy? ›

There was little or no salt added to the candy over 100 years ago or now. Manufacturers of the candy in seaside towns capitalize on the name of salt water taffy, but there is truly no difference between salt water and regular taffy.

What are salt water taffy ingredients? ›

Saltwater taffy ingredients are fairly simple. The candy is made from sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, glycerine, butter, water, and salt. Other saltwater taffy ingredients can include food coloring and natural or artificial flavorings, especially fruit flavors.

Is taffy hard or chewy? ›

The actual recipe behind taffy can vary quite a bit, but it generally includes butter, sugar, and flavoring. This sticky combination is used to create a gooey mass that is then pulled and pulled—and pulled some more! The end result is soft and chewy taffy in a flavor of your choosing.

Why does taffy turn white? ›

The purpose of pulling the taffy is to add air in to the candy. This allows for millions of air bubbles to form which is how a clear batch of cooked taffy all of a sudden begins to turn bright white. The added air into the product also adds volume, and turns the candy into a much larger piece.

What does glycerin do for taffy? ›

In this taffy recipe, glycerin helps give the candy a soft, creamy consistency. Glycerin can be found in many drugstores, as well as some supermarkets and craft stores in the baking supplies section, or in cake-decorating stores.

Can you make taffy out of marshmallows? ›

Marshmallow Taffy is easy to make. With clean fingers, take a marshmallow between your thumb and pointing finger. With your other hand's thumb and pointing finger, pull the marshmallow, yet holding on to it tightly, reverse the pulling, and keep doing this until you see it becoming taffy.

What is a fun fact about taffy? ›

In the early 1900s, Joseph Fralinger and Enoch James were two big players in the salt water taffy game. Fralinger was credited with boxing the candy and selling it as a souvenir which boosted its popularity, while James cut the taffy into bite-sized pieces, making it easier to unwrap and eat.

Are Tootsie rolls taffy? ›

Tootsie Roll (/ˈtʊtsi/) is a chocolate-flavored candy that has been manufactured in the United States since 1907. The candy has qualities similar to both caramels and taffy without being exactly either confection. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Industries, is based in Chicago, Illinois.

How is Taffy Town taffy made? ›

At Taffy Town, however, we've taken the classic production process and given it an extraordinary twist that improves both the texture and flavor! Rather than using a pulling machine, each of our taffy batches are whipped in with a meringue to create an even fluffier air structure.

What is the difference between salt water taffy and Laffy taffy? ›

Every brand will have its own special recipe, but taffy and salt water taffy are often considered to be the same candy, with one key difference—the design. While traditional taffy can come in all shapes and sizes, salt water taffy has a signature look.

Do they make salt water taffy out of salt water? ›

salt water taffy, a type of taffy (a chewy and soft candy) that originated in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. The recipe for salt water taffy does not actually include salt water from the ocean, though it does usually call for salt and water, as well as sugar, corn syrup, butter, cornstarch, flavoring, and coloring.

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