Sometimes the kids (and adults!) need a little something to keep their hands busy during a football game. How about some good ol' fashioned taffy? It's super-easy to make. You can color it your team's colors and send it home as a souvenir treat! Yum!Time-Out Taffy
Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Flavoring and coloring as desired
Directions:
Place sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt into a medium saucepan and mix well with a wooden spoon. Place over low heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring continuously. Increase the heat and do not stir during the rest of the cooking. Wash the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water, using an upward motion. This will prevent the formation of crystals which might cause the candy to sugar. After the syrup boils put in the candy thermometer, and when the thermometer registers 265 degrees, remove candy from heat. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you'll know it's done when you drop a little bit into cold water and it becomes brittle. Remove from heat, add 2 tablespoons butter and stir very gently. Divide into however many flavors you want to make and set aside until it's cool enough to handle.
Now for the taffy pulling! Grease hands generously with a stick of unsalted butter to prevent the fresh taffy from sticking to fingers. (you can use cooking spray but it doesn't taste as good)Instruct your taffy pullers to use only their fingertips to lift the edges of the warm, flowing candy up, and then to pull out about 12 inches. Then, they’ll quickly fold the taffy back from the one hand to the other, catching the center, and then pulling again.
If you’re adding food coloring and flavoring, pause briefly after a few pulls to add a drop or two to the mixture, folding the mixture over on the color and flavor. Any food coloring will do and any flavoring oils you want (we like peppermint and raspberry).
When your taffy is very hard to pull and holds its shape when laid out on a platter, it’s ready to cut into pieces. Rub a pair of kitchen scissors with unsalted butter, and then cut the hardened taffy into bite-size pieces. Wrap in squares of plastic wrap or wax paper. Or, just place on a platter and serve them up! Enjoy!
