Homemade saltwater taffy is fun to make and a nostalgic treat! Fill a candy jar up with a rainbow of assorted flavors and colors. This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like our homemade tootsie rolls, our homemade churro toffee, or our breakable candy bombs! If you have a sweet tooth for chocolate be sure to check out our homemade almond joy bites.

Watch our step by step video!

SaltWater Taffy Candy

Salt water taffy is a nostalgic treat. One that you'll find all over, but especially sold in bulk near coastal towns. You'll often find it sold in barrels with all of the different flavors. You might think, understandably so, that saltwater plays some sort of role in making taffy, but that isn't true. Saltwater taffy isn't any different than taffy. This candy is said to have received its name after a candy maker, near an Atlantic boardwalk, walked into his shop after an ocean swell had soaked all of the candy. When customers came into the shop, inquiring about the taffy, he jokingly said he had some saltwater taffy available. The name stuck and the rest is history.

Homemade SaltWater Taffy

I remember making a batch of cinnamon saltwater taffy with my mom when I was a child. I didn't end up caring for the cinnamon flavor, but the process of making the taffy and pulling it was fun. Now I make it with my own kids! Ruby is my taffy assistant and loves making saltwater taffy. She was excited when the 5th-grade reading passage for the week was all about saltwater taffy. She wanted to make a batch to share with her class, but homemade treats are prohibited at school. Instead, she told her teacher about her taffy adventures and the flavors she's made.

We've made many taffy flavors such as grape, orange, raspberry, lemon, bubblegum, and banana. We recently added watermelon flavoring to our stash assortment so a batch of that will be in our future. My favorite flavors are grape and orange. This taffy is just as flavorful as Laffy Taffy but soft like saltwater taffy---just as good as anything from a candy store.

This recipe is an adaptation of one that I found in a paperback Betty Crocker cookbook that my grandma gave me when I was a teenager. It’s out of print, but full of some of my favorite staple recipes!

SaltWater Taffy Supplies and Ingredients

Supplies

baking sheet
medium saucepan
wooden spoon or rubber spatula
candy thermometer
scissors
wax paper (for candy wrappers)
food gloves
measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

(scroll to the end of the post for the recipe and step by step instructions)

sugar: white, granulated sugar
corn starch
light corn syrup
water
butter: salted or unsalted
sea salt or kosher salt
flavoring oils or extracts: flavoring oils are much stronger than extracts. If using flavoring oils use ½ teaspoon (½ a dram). If using extracts use 1 teaspoon.
food coloring: 2-3 drops. The taffy color will lighten as it is pulled.

How To Make SaltWater Taffy

(scroll to the end of the post for step by step photos)

Butter a baking sheet and set it to the side.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil.

Add a candy thermometer to the pan and allow the mixture to simmer (without stirring) until it reaches 250-253 degrees.

Sea Level vs. High Altitude cooking times

I live close to sea level and have found that 252 degrees is just about right for making taffy. If you live at a higher altitude the general rule of thumb is to reduce the temp 2 degrees for every 1000 feet of elevation above sea level. It might take a batch or two to find just the right temperature, but once you do its smooth sailing! You'll be able to make batch after batch of deliciously soft and chewy taffy.

If your taffy hardens quickly and looks like hard candy/glass you cooked it too long (it will still be edible, but more of a Jolly Rancher hard candy). If the taffy is runny and a slimy mess it wasn't cooked long enough. A good candy thermometer is essential to ensure the proper temp.

Flavoring SaltWater Taffy

You can simply flavor your taffy with a teaspoon of vanilla extract, but we like adding fruity flavoring oils. My favorite flavoring oil brand is LorAnn. They taste amazing and are easy to find locally at Michael's or Hobby Lobby or order online from Amazon or Walmart. You'll need ½ of a bottle (½ teaspoon) for each batch of saltwater taffy.

If you'd like to use extracts like lemon, peppermint, rootbeer, orange, or lemon you'll need about a teaspoon.

Once the taffy mixture reaches 250-253 degrees remove it from the heat and stir in a couple of drops of coloring and the flavoring oil.

Immediately pour the taffy mixture onto the buttered baking sheet. Allow taffy to cool until it is warm enough to handle.

Note: if you want to split the batch to make 2 flavors you'll need to prepare a second buttered pan and have a place to pour half of the hot taffy mixture to flavor it separately. You'll need to work quickly. I prefer making a single flavor at a time. It's just easier!

How To Pull Taffy

I've pulled taffy with buttered hands and buttered gloves and prefer using buttered gloves. Simply wipe a small amount of butter across your food gloves and you'll be good to go. Peel taffy off of the baking sheet, form it into a ball and begin to pull. It will start out looking glassy but will turn into a soft, satin texture as you pull. The color will lighten and the taffy will start to stiffen slightly. Watch our step-by-step video to see how the color changes as you pull.

Form taffy into a rope and cut it into bite-sized pieces using buttered scissors. Wrap candy in wax paper.