Molasses Taffy Recipe - From the Blooming Kitchen Garden

I made Molasses Taffy the other day...for the first time in years! I used a different recipe than previously, and the results were delicious - at least according to sweetie, who scoffed down most of it (smile). Taffy is fun and easy - but it does take time and is a sticky proposition, so this is *not* what you want to do to impress in a hurry!

Molasses Taffy
(yield about 1lb of candy - recipe can be halved)

2 C molasses
1 C brown sugar (I used raw sugar and it worked just fine)
2 Tbs cider vinegar (white vinegar will also work)
2 Tbs butter (plus LOTS more for buttering pans, platters. scissors and hands)
1 Tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

Prep strips or squares of waxed paper to wrap your candies in. I like to cut rectangles about 3" long by 2" wide. Butter some kitchen scissors and put aside.

Butter a large pan or platter (butter bottom and sides - taffy is STICKY). Take a moment to test your candy thermometer in boiling water, and make note of any adjustments.

In a large deep saucepan, combine molasses, sugar, and vinegar. Stir it up really well - this will make the "sugar syrup". Stirring constantly, cook the syrup over medium heat until boiling. When it boils, stop stirring and clip on your candy thermometer and cook til the syrup reached 260F. This is the "hardball" stage. 

Carefully pour the hot syrup into the buttered pan and let it cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes - until it is "cool to handle". I like to use a buttered wooden spoon to stir it around to cool faster - and it gives me a head start of the pulling.

With buttered hands, form the candy into 3-4 balls. Take up one ball and start pulling. It will be really dark brown and "gooey" at this stage. Keep kneading and pulling it - or hand it off to the kiddies and let them have all the fun! You want to pull the candy until it becomes a rather pale tan color and "hard to pull" - otherwise it will ooze all over when you try to cut and wrap individual candies. In a warm kitchen, it took me about an hour to pull a half-batch of this taffy...so please take you time on this!

When the taffy seems ready, stretch it into a 3/4" rope and cut pieces with the buttered scissors. I did this alone, so I laid my "rope" of taffy onto a buttered plate and cut the pieces from there.Wrap each piece in waxed paper and tightly twist the ends to seal. Store the candy in a tin or jar or other moisture-proof container.



NOTE: If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can test for readiness by dropping a small spoonful of the hot syrup into a glass of cold (not icy) water. The syrup should form a small ball - pull the ball out of the water - if it stays pretty firm the correct temp has been reached. If it immediately droops, cook awhile longer.