Best Tricolor Taffy 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.

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.

TAFFY

Steps:

• In a saucepan, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and butter, stirring over high heat until mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Reduce heat and slowly add milk and cook until thermometer reaches 248 degrees F.
• Pour mixture onto the 4 buttered baking trays. When taffy is cool enough to handle, butter your hands and bring corners to the center to form into a ball. Take all 4 balls and form into 1 large ball.
• Place onto a table or marble slab so you and a helper can start the pulling process. Start folding and stretching your taffy ball. You should pull the taffy from your friend, fold over and over in your hands, then let your friend pull the taffy from you, repeating this process until the taffy turns light in color. Pulling the taffy adds tiny air bubbles throughout the candy, making it lighter and chewier.
• Place the taffy on your pulling table/slab, add the color and flavoring, and start the pulling process all over again until the liquids are well incorporated and the taffy is the color you want.
• Now you can lay the taffy on the table that has a small amount of cornstarch to keep it from sticking. While still soft, press into a 3/4-inch thick sheet. Take a yardstick and cut a straight line with buttered scissors or knife. Continue cutting the taffy into 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide strips. Cut strips into pieces that you want to wrap, about 2-inches. Begin wrapping the pieces in the waxed paper and twisting the ends.

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.

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.

OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES TAFFY

Steps:

• Lightly grease a baking sheet. Bring the sugar, molasses, water, and vinegar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the sugar has reached the hard ball stage, 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball.
• Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter and baking soda. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and allow to cool until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Once cool enough to handle, fold the taffy in half, then pull to double its original length. Continue folding and pulling until the taffy has turned golden brown, and is too stiff to pull anymore. Cut the taffy into bite sized pieces, and wrap in waxed paper. Store in an airtight container.

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.

COLORFUL SPIRAL PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook pasta according to package directions, adding the broccoli during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse in cold water., Transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, olives, salt and pepper. Drizzle with salad dressing; toss to coat. Chill until serving.