Taffy

After our handcart days experience, I just had a few other thing I wanted to do for Pioneer Day one of which was make taffy.

I had forgotten to bring the bottle of glycerine with me from NY, so bought more. A bigger bottle than we would ever need. Oh well, there's now a lifetime supply at Mum's if anyone else wants to use it!

The kids were so excited - we're making candy!

Lindsey & I had made some around Easter, and it turned out a little too hard. I was cautious not to do that again. Too cautious. When it cooled & the kids started to stretch it, it was too soft, and just stuck all over their hands. We tossed that batch & I made another one - because dang it - I had planned to pull taffy on Pioneer Day!

So the kids waited while I reassembled the ingredients -

and started cooking.

Then you wait for it to get to the right temperature.

and wait ...

and wait!

Remove from the heat & add butter & vanilla.

You can also add any other flavor you'd like too here too.

Pour it onto a Silpat or cookie sheet, until it's cool enough to touch. Really, now that I think about it there's a lot of "waiting" that goes into making taffy!

Butter everyone's hands, so it doesn't stick & start pulling. Stretching the taffy adds air to it, and makes it softer. You can tell when it's stretched enough because it kind of turns a lighter, shimmery color.

The kids pulling was probably a lot less vigorous than it should have been - they were too busy eating!If you're not that interested in pulling - you can just skip that step altogether!

I didn't get than many pictures, I'll have to see if Sara or Corinne have any more. Everything was sticky & buttery, so I didn't pick up the camera during the most exciting part! Wrap 1" pieces in parchment paper or wax paper.

Seriously - this is all we wrapped, they ate the rest.

Here's the recipe. I've never eaten anything at the Lion House that wasn't completely delicious, and I've used their caramel recipe at Valentine's for years - so I totally trust them & went with their recipe.

LION HOUSE TAFFY

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup white corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons glycerine (available at drugstores)

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, water, corn syrup, salt and glycerine in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until temperature is 258 degrees. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted. Pour candy onto a buttered cookie sheet. Cool until lukewarm and taffy can be handled comfortably. Wash and dry hands thoroughly. Take a small piece of taffy and stretch and fold repeatedly until the taffy turns white. Form taffy into desired shape. Place on a piece of waxed paper. Makes enough taffy for 10-14 people to share. -- Lion House Classics