Homemade Saltwater Taffy
Homemade salt water taffy is soft, chewy, and fun to make! Flavor and color each batch with your favorite candy flavoring for a nostalgic homemade treat.
Servings: 35 pieces
Calories: 50kcal
Equipment
- saucepan
- candy thermometer
- wooden spoon or rubber spatula
- baking sheet
- wax paper
- measuring cups and spoons
- gloves
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp. corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt sea salt or kosher
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- ⅔ cup water
- food coloring
- ½ teaspoon concentrated flavoring oil (1 teaspoon extract)
- butter for greasing pan and hands
Instructions
- Butter a baking sheet. Set baking sheet aside.
- Combine sugar, corn starch, salt, butter, corn syrup and water in medium saucepan.
- Heat on medium heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil.
- Add candy thermometer to pan and cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250-253 degrees (see notes about cooking temp).
- Pull pan off of heat and add 3-4 drops of food coloring and flavoring oil. Stir.
- Imediately pour mixture onto buttered baking sheet. Allow to cool until you can handle it. Mixture should be warm when you begin to pull the taffy, not hot.
- Spread a small amount of butter onto your hands, or onto your food gloves (I like using gloves) then remove taffy from baking sheet, form into a ball and begin to pull taffy.
- The taffy will start out shiny and darker in color. As you pull it, it will become lighter and develop a smooth, satiny texture.
- It will change from soft and stringy to stiff and smooth.
- This can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes.
- Roll taffy into a rope.
- Cut taffy, with buttered scissors, into bite sized pieces.
- Wrap taffy in small squares of wax paper.
- This recipe makes 30-40 pieces of taffy, depending on the size you cut the pieces.
Video
Notes
- Cooking temperature: I live close to sea level and have found that 252°F works well for my taffy. The ideal temperature can vary depending on altitude, humidity, and your candy thermometer. High altitude: A general rule is to reduce the cooking temperature by about 2°F for every 1,000 feet above sea level. You may need to experiment to find the temperature that works best for you. Flavoring: Flavoring oils are much stronger than extracts. If using concentrated flavoring oil, use ½ teaspoon. If using extract, use 1 teaspoon. Hard taffy: If the taffy hardens quickly and looks like hard candy or glass, it was cooked too long or to too high of a temperature. Soft or sticky taffy: If the taffy is runny or very sticky during pulling, it likely wasn't cooked long enough. Slightly sticky pieces: If the taffy is slightly sticky after cutting, let it stand uncovered for 15–20 minutes before wrapping.
Nutrition
Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.01g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 0.4mg | Fiber: 0.004g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.01mg
