Learn everything you need to know about how to make salt water taffy at home. This simple recipe is easy enough for the average home baker of any experience level!
Living in New Jersey, the best thing during the summer was heaving to the shore and eating all the taffy as we walked the boardwalks. It is the best and trying to make it at home is the best. So, if you aren't going to the shore by time soon, bring the shore to you with this fun project!
Ingredients
- Sugar - Use only granulated sugar. This recipe is impossible with any other type of sugar.
- Cornstarch - We use cornstarch to give the taffy a nice and smooth texture. You can use arrowroot powder if you do not have cornstarch.
- Corn syrup - Corn syrup acts as an "interfering agent". Without getting too technical, corn syrup helps the sugar in the taffy syrup from crystallizing.
- Water - Water helps to keep the sugar crystallizing at the beginning stages.
- Glycerin - The glycerin here helps give the taffy a soft and creamy consistency that we know and love. You can find glycerin at most baking goods stores or craft stores that sell baking supplies.
- Salt - The salt doesn't make the taffy salty. It isn't even why it is called salt water taffy. Its only purpose here is to bring out the flavor in the taffy.
- Baking soda - I like to add baking soda to my taffy recipe to give it more aeration so the taffy stays light and chewy. A little goes a long way.
- Extract/flavoring - Try and get creative here! I used a mix of lemon and butter extract, but try new things and see what you like!
- Food coloring - This is a great way to make your taffy colorful and fun!
Special tools
Unlike most recipes you are better off using a few specific tools to make your taffy. Luckily, they are all tools you will use again in your kitchen if you are an avid baker and want to try more types of candy making!
- Candy thermometer - We use this to make sure the sugar has cooked to what is known as the soft-crack phase. (This is the phase where most of the moisture is gone, the sugar syrup has some flexibility.
- Wax paper or parchment paper - This is used to wrap your cut pieces of taffy so they stay nice and fresh.
- Marble slab (or greased cookie sheet) - This is for your taffy to rest and cool. I prefer the marble slab as it is better at cooling.
Tips for taffy pulling
FYI, guys, pulling taffy is serious business. Most recipes recommend you butter or grease your hands when you pull your taffy, but all you really need to do is wait until it is cooler.
Once your salt water taffy is a nice warm temperature, it won't stick to your hands at all. You need to stretch and pull the taffy swiftly for about 10 minutes.
When pulling, stretch the taffy as far as you can, loop it back onto itself and pull again. Continue to pull until the taffy becomes too difficult to pull and the taffy is fully opaque.
Why pull taffy
This is so the candy aerates. By pulling, you help air bubbles trap inside the candy. Otherwise, you will end up with a taffy that is much harder and will take some warming up before you can bite down on it.
I also use a touch of baking soda which creates air bubbles inside the taffy to help keep it lighter. This is especially handy if your arms tire out faster or you can pull as much.
Customization
You the flavor possibilities are endless with taffy as long as you can get the extracts for it. I highly recommend trying LorAnn Oils as they are pretty concentrated, they have a lot of variety, and can give you great flavor.
You can skip the food coloring if you don't want it, but they help to make your taffy a lot more fun and help you tell the difference if you make a few different flavors at once. I prefer AmeriColor gel food colors. They're a little pricey, but just a drop goes a long way.
Related recipes
You should try making these strawberry marshmallows or chocolate marshmallows. These caramelized honey macarons are also great. Pretzel toffee bark, raspberry caramels, maple caramels, and pumpkin spice toffee are delicious!
Recipe Card
How to Make Salt Water Taffy
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon glycerin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ - 1 teaspoon extract/flavoring
- 3 drops food coloring optional
Instructions
- Grease a marble slab or cookie sheet. Set aside
- In a medium saucepan, mix together the sugar and cornstarch, then stir in the corn syrup, water, glycerin, and salt.
- Mix well over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to bubble, stop stirring and insert your candy thermometer.
- Brush the sides of the pot with a wet pastry brush if you see sugar crystals.
- Continue to cook until it reaches 254 degrees. Swiftly remove from heat and add your baking soda, flavoring, and food coloring.
- Mix to combine. To make the lemon pound cake flavor I did, you need a scant ½ teaspoon lemon extract, ½ teaspoon butter extract, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Pour the sugar mixture on your greased slab or pan and wait until it is cool enough to touch. Roughly 5 - 10 minutes. To speed the process, you can use a bench scraper to fold the sugar mixture over itself and also begin letting air into the mixture.
- Once it is cool, lightly grease your hands if desired and begin pulling, folding the candy over itself, and pulling more. You need to pull the taffy at a vigorous pace for about 10 - 15 minutes.
- Pull the taffy into a long, thin rope and use your kitchen scissors or a knife to cut out your pieces. Wrap them individually in wax paper.
Julesy says
Do you use Lorann extract or the super concentrated oil flavors?
Amanda Powell says
I've used Lorann oils and the extracts. But when I used the oils, I never reduced the amounts and never saw a huge difference.
Stephen Reiss says
Buttering you’re hands not only keeps the taffy from sticking, but adds another flavor component that takes it all to the next level.
Stephen Reiss says
*your - I hate auto correct.
Janet Spence says
Great tutorial, and I checked out many since this is my first attempt, and yours won 🙂 I decided to go with peppermint, and opted out of the coloring. Word to the wise if using mint, either have someone there to dump it in for you while you are ready with the spoon, or have a flat bottom measuring spoon had have it poured and ready to dump in. When that extract hit the hot sugar mixture, I got a blast of peppermint that made my eyes water while I was rushing to grab my stirring spoon, LOL. But, I failed. I let it cool quite a while, and thought it was ok to pull, but it stayed sticky as rubber cement even after 15 minutes. But I don't think it is your recipe or anything I did wrong. I live in FL on a boat, and even with my a/c running, we are still humid and warm here. I will try this again in the winter 😉 I put it in the fridge, if that does not work, well... I will just eat it by spoonfuls, because it does taste awesome.
Rune Lyngsoe says
Great instructions, worked a treat. I divided my batch into two portion, left my wife to do one that was almond/yellow while doing coffee/black myself. She added much less flavouring/colouring and hers worked out much better than mine. Based on this, I would suggest i) add as little liquid after the heating process as possible, to the extent that the flavouring/colouring can survive the 135 deg. C consider adding them prior to heating, and/or ii) get your significant other to do the pulling.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
Oh yum! This is so cool! I haven't had taffy in forever, but I love it. I love your in-the-process shots! 🙂
Tamar Wiener says
This looks like so much fun! Great tutorial, I'm going to have to try this out 🙂
Amanda says
It is lots of fun (when you aren't trying to take pictures with greasy hands) I've picked up a few different flavored to try out for Halloween! I'm testing out a caramel apple taffy idea today!
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal says
This taffy is so pretty! I wish I had some to chew on tonight! Even though it's getting chilly outside, I love how it reminds of the shore.
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
Homemade candy is the best! Love hearing about your process when developing the recipe 🙂
Zainab says
Ahhhh what a fun project! And of course mint is just perfect!