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If you are looking for a fantastic activity for kids, youth groups, family reunions or just to pass some time on a lazy summer day or Sunday afternoon, give this fun Pioneer Taffy a try.
The taffy takes between 35-40 minutes to cook. It needs to cool for about 10 minutes, and then you are ready for a fun taffy pull.
Everyone in your family can have their own piece to pull.
Let the good times roll!
These are my cute nieces that helped me pull taffy this past weekend. We had a great time!
Let me show you how to make it happen!
1. Place all ingredients but the vanilla and butter into a heavy sauce pan. You can find glycerin at most pharmacies. It is a very important ingredient. The taffy will not turn out well with out it.
2. Bring your taffy to a boil over medium high heat. Let it keep on a boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees. This should take about 35-40 minutes.
3. I like to check the temperature of the taffy by dipping a spoon into the pan and then running cold water from the tap over the top of it. See how the taffy is kind of stiff looking…that means it is ready to go. If you cook it much past this stage you it will be really hard when you pull it. If you under cook it…you may have a sticky mess. This water trick really helps. However, you can rely on your candy thermometer as well.
4. When your taffy is cooked take it off the heat and pour in your vanilla.
5. Add your butter to the pot and give the bubbling beauty a good round of stirring. Stir until the butter is all melted.
6. Butter a large cookie sheet.
7. Pour the taffy onto the sheet.
8. Let the taffy cool for about 5 minutes, or until it is cool enough to handle. The edges will start to set up a bit faster than the middle.
9. Pinch the taffy into 12 separate pieces.
10. When the taffy is cool enough to pick up, hand out a piece to each lucky participant. Then you can start to pull the taffy. The trick is the stretch it out……
…..and then fold it back together. Stretch and fold, stretch and fold…..
……until your taffy turns a beautiful white color. Or if some of your pullers are 3 years old, until they get tired of pulling. It still tastes mighty good, even if you don’t pull it long enough for it to turn white.
11. Stretch the taffy into a long rope shape and set on a piece of wax paper. You can break the taffy into pieces by holding it in the palm of your hand and tapping it with the handle of a butter knife (thanks for the tip, Grandma Barb!)
This is a shot of my kids and their cousins, and my own Grandma Barb, taken about 12 years ago. We’ve had a lot a great times, pulling this taffy. Hope some of you get a chance to try it and that you love the time spent together as much as we have over the years. 🙂
Ingredients
- 2 C sugar
- 1 1/2 C water
- 1 C white corn syrup
- 1 t salt
- 2 t glycerin (found at the pharmacy)
- 1 t vanilla
- 2 T butter
Instructions
1. Place all ingredients but the vanilla and butter into a heavy sauce pan. You can find glycerin at most pharmacies. It is a very important ingredient. The taffy will not turn out well with out it.
2. Bring your taffy to a boil over medium high heat. Let it keep on a boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees. This should take about 35-40 minutes.
3. I like to check the temperature of the taffy by dipping a spoon into the pan and then running cold water from the tap over the top of it. See how the taffy is kind of stiff looking...that means it is ready to go. If you cook it much past this stage you it will be really hard when you pull it. If you under cook it...you may have a sticky mess. This water trick really helps. However, you can rely on your candy thermometer as well.
4. When your taffy is cooked take it off the heat and pour in your vanilla.
5. Add your butter to the pot and give the bubbling beauty a good round of stirring. Stir until the butter is all melted.
6. Butter a large cookie sheet.
7. Pour the taffy onto the sheet.
8. Let the taffy cool for about 5 minutes, or until it is cool enough to handle. The edges will start to set up a bit faster than the middle.
9. Pinch the taffy into 12 separate pieces.
10. When the taffy is cool enough to pick up, hand out a piece to each lucky participant. Then you can start to pull the taffy. The trick is the stretch and then fold it back together. Stretch and fold, stretch and fold until your taffy turns a beautiful white color. Or if some of your pullers are 3 years old, until they get tired of pulling. It still tastes mighty good, even if you don't pull it long enough for it to turn white.
11. Stretch the taffy into a long rope shape and set on a piece of wax paper. You can break the taffy into pieces by holding it in the palm of your hand and tapping it with the handle of a butter knife (thanks for the tip, Grandma Barb!)
Would this be the same as Honey taffy? Would you add honey instead of vanilla?
Thanks
Melissa,
Honey Taffy is something different. Not sure how to make it…this recipe just needs the vanilla. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out. Thanks!
~Jamie
Just wanted to give a heads up, I've been researching glycerin and have discovered that the glycerin depicted in your picture which is spelled without an “e” at the end is not supposed to be consumed. Make sure your readers get vegetable glycerine with an “e”. The backs of the bottles without an “e” should explain that it is not to be eaten.
Effie, when I made this recipe I called a pharmacist to ask which glycerin I should use. He told me that because of the small quantity of glycerin, this one is fine to use. Ingested in large amounts this glycerin is not edible. I used this exact same glycerin when we made taffy and none of the seven 14-year-olds who helped me got sick.
This sounds like so much fun. Can you add food coloring? I would love to try this for a young women activity. It might be fun to add colors for the values. I just need to have my son send the glycerin here to me in Japan. I LOVE your blog!!! It is amazing. There is nothing that I have tried that I have not loved. Thanks soooo much for your hard work.
Hi Tammy,
You can add food coloring, and different kinds of candy flavoring. Add them after the taffy has finished cooking along with the butter. Good luck! Fun idea to do the YW values. Good luck!
~Jamie
Hi,
Is it possible to make this recipe in advance or do you have to be pulling it withing the 10 minutes after it has cooled?
Thanks, I’m so excited to try this at my daughter’s birthday party!!
Amber
Amber,
You can’t make this recipe in advance. Once the candy has cooled all the way down it will be impossible to pull. 🙂 Good luck!
~Jamie
My son has many allergies too, one being dairy. Can you use a non dairy butter in this recipe?
I don’t know if you tried it yet or not but I just made this using Earth balance butter. It turned out great!! So yummy!! My kids love it!!
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Hi Jamie,
Thinking of doing this for our upcoming pioneer trek! Do you know if the recipe is affected by humidity? Thanks for any suggestion 🙂
Question: any substitute for corn syrup?
Corn syrup substitute
For each cup of light corn syrup in a recipe, substitute 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup water.
For each cup of dark corn syrup, substitute 1 cup of packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup water.
For each cup of corn syrup, substitute 1 cup of honey