An Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull
How to Make Homemade Saltwater Taffy With the Kids
Here's a fun indoor activity for children of all ages, as much fun to make as it is to eat.
A taffy pull is a great activity for a children’s party or a rainy day inside the house with kids.
Since Colonial times, taffy pulling has been a favorite American pastime. When sugar was precious, the candy was made with molasses. In the 1800s on the New Jersey shore, "saltwater taffy" became a favorite souvenir of the beach and boardwalk. Even today, children enjoy the old fashioned fun of making the sweet, chewy treat, wrapping it up and giving it to friends.
The first part of the taffy making process is done at the stove and must be handled by an adult. Once the taffy is poured onto the cookie sheet and is cool enough to handle, children can be put in charge of pulling.
Why pull the taffy? Stretching and pulling the taffy allows air to blend in with it, making it lighter and chewier, and giving it a smooth consistency and a glossy appearance.
Each child can pull his own small piece of taffy, but it’s more fun to have a two-person taffy pull, stepping back from one another to stretch out the taffy.
Homemade Taffy Recipe
- ¾ cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 1¼ cups light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Flavoring and coloring as desired (1 teaspoon vanilla or desired amount of peppermint extract, lemon extract or other flavorings; a drop or two of red, yellow, green or blue food coloring.)
Combine water, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a heavy non-reactive saucepan, and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise heat and cook quickly, about 20 minutes, without stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to brush down the sides of the pan to keep the mixture from crystallizing. Watch the boil carefully so the taffy does not burn. When a candy thermometer reads 265 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter, flavorings and colorings and stir gently.
Pour the taffy in three pieces onto a cookie sheet that has been generously buttered. When it is cool enough to handle, but still warm, have the kids rub butter on their hands, partner up, take a lump of taffy and pull and stretch it. (Don't allow the taffy to become completely cool or it will harden and become difficult to pull.) As they stretch out the taffy, twist it into a rope, bring the ends together, grab the loop and stretch it again. On the last few pulls, keep the strand smooth and not twisted. Lay the taffy strand down on a buttered sheet of waxed paper. Lightly rub butter on a pair of kitchen scissors (a job for an adult) and cut the taffy into 1-inch, bite-sized pieces. Wrap each piece of candy in small squares of waxed paper and twist the ends.
You can get creative by pressing together two thin strands of different colored taffy, pulling them once together and then cutting them into pieces for a two-toned taffy. Or come up with different ways of rolling up a strand of taffy in a different colored piece of taffy to experiment with different patterns.
