taffy

The other day, I volunteered to make taffy for my daughters preschool. It was to coincide with a book they are reading, and the teacher wanted the kids to pull the taffy and then, each eat a piece.

Sounds like fun, huh? So, off I trotted with my recipe she gave me.

To make taffy, you boil a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Some recipes call for baking soda and vinegar, some for cornstarch and glycerin. Once it’s cool enough to handle, you pull it for 10-15 minutes to aerate it and make it chewy and opaque.

My problem? As I pulled it,  the taffy became more and more brittle. Oh dear…

Well, I made that recipe. No taffy.

So, I made another recipe from a trusted cookbook. No taffy.

I googled it.

I made a recipe that specifically said “soft” taffy.

I checked my temperature:

I poured it into a buttered pan:

And I pulled and pulled and pulled.

This is what your hands look like on taffy.

And this is the other.

So, my “taffy” ended up hard candy. It was tasty hard candy..but I felt more of a choking hazard for preschool.

What did I end up doing?

For once, let’s just say….

I am SO GLAD the Halloween candy is already in the stores.

That was a close one.

I would give you one of the three recipes, but… what’s the point?!

Rumor has it, humidity may have played a roll in the crystallization of the sugar.

So… there may be a slight chance I try taffy once more in the winter.

After my hands heal.

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