How to Make Taffy

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: August 20, 2019

Taffy is a chewy sweet treat. It's not hard to make your own at home. Taffy making can be a great activity for your family and kids love to help. Soon you'll be enjoying homemade taffy and sharing it with your friends and family.

Ingredients

Any powdered flavoring .21oz (6g) such as a small package of unsweetened drink mix
2 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons of butter (plus extra for buttering hands, pan, and scissors)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Cooking the Taffy

1
Butter a baking pan. Rub a small amount of butter around to coat the inside surface of the pan. Set it aside.
2
Mix together the cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan. Add corn syrup, water, butter, and salt, then stir to combine.

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3
Heat the mixture. Put the saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter melts.
4
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a boil stop stirring.
5
Use a candy thermometer. Cook without stirring and check the temperature on the thermometer until the candy reaches 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If you don't have a candy thermometer you can still check the doneness. Drop a bit of the mixture into cold water. If the candy makes a ball that holds its shape but is still flexible, it's ready.
6
Pay close attention. It will take some time for the candy to get to 250 degrees, but once it does it will overcook quickly.
7
Remove the saucepan from the heat immediately. When it reaches the desired temperature you'll want to pull it off the heat fast.
8
Stir in the flavoring. Add the vanilla and powdered flavoring and stir until they are well combined.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Pulling the Taffy

1
Pour the cooked candy into buttered baking pan. The candy will cool in the baking pan.
2
Wait 15 minutes. The taffy should sit until it is cool enough to handle.
3
Butter your hands. Putting butter on your hands will prevent the taffy from sticking to them.
4
Pull the taffy. Use your buttered hands to pull the taffy until the color looks lighter and has a satiny appearance. Just fold the taffy back on itself and stretch it out repeatedly, like dough. This should take about 15 minutes.
5
Pull the candy into long ropes. Once the taffy looks lighter, pull it into long strips.
6
Cut the taffy. Use scissors to cut the taffy into squares. Butter the scissors to make the cutting easier.
7
Wrap the cut taffy in waxed paper. Wrapping each piece of taffy in a piece of waxed paper will help it hold its shape.^{[1]
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Community Q&A

Question

Can I put the freshly cooked candy In the fridge? For how long?

Community Answer

If it is hot, I wouldn’t, because it will get hard from it going from hot to cold, but if it is room temperature go right ahead!
Question

What if the mixture doesn't harden?

Community Answer

Try reheating it.