2 mins read
I had this crazy profound idea in the middle of Saturday evening to make my own salt water taffy. Well, let me backtrack a bit. I'm in the midst of planning my g-ma's 90th surprise extravaganza. My grandma has always been extremally fond of the "Gone with The Wind" movie. So I took that theme and ran with it minus the bustles & corsets. Sidenote: Initially, the hubby thought I intended on guest dressing in costumes. Looking back I shouldn't have told him any differently.
"Suuuure, honey that frock coat & top hat looks great on ya!"
While searching for favor ideas I stumbled upon some sites that mentioned salt water taffy was a very popular candy in the 1860's {the era in which GWTW is based on for those of you have never endured 466 minutes watching this film.} Then a thought bubble appeared over this little DIYer head & I wondered if there was a way to make homemade taffy?
And of course there is a way & it's easier then you think except for one part.........the stretching.
Oh, the stretching. My arms are quivering just thinking about it.
Let's just say if there was a video of my taffy making shenanigans it was twenty minutes of pure Jane Fonda hell. There was sweating, & grunting, & a few times I may have blacked out.
OKAY. So maybe it wasn't all that bad but you do definately get a good arm workout in. So please don't say I didn't warn ya!
If you decide to indulge in this sweet stuff here is what you'll need:
2 cups suagr
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Candy Flavoring Oil
{I used LorAnn Watermelon Flavoring found at Hobby Lobby}
Food Coloring
Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, water, margarine & salt in a heavy sauce pan.
Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cover pan & bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Uncover & continue to cook the liquid until it reaches a temperature of 266 degrees {use a candy thermometer}.
Remove from the heat and stir in the candy flavoring & food color.
Pour into a greased shallow pan to cool.
Once cool to touch, grease your hands and pull and stretch the taffy until it is lighter in color and has satiny gloss finish to it {approximately 20 minutes}
Pull the taffy into a long rope form and start cutting small pieces with scissors. Wrap the pieces in wax paper squares, twisting the ends. Makes about 50 pieces.
Then apply Bengay.
I actually only made about a dozen pieces for my hubby & I to try. I decided to take the lazy way out and purchase candy instead since the amount I had to make for our guest would have probably resulted in a lost arm but still it was fun to get all-nostalgia & try a new recipe out.
Plus, I burned off all my dinner calories!
Sharing with friends here:
http://www.skiptomylou.org/
http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/
http://www.pollywantacrafter.com/
http://www.tipjunkie.com/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/
http://thefrugalgirls.com/
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