Dini's Magnificent Old-Fashioned Molasses Taffy
from Danette

This is a recipe that I first put together when I was 10 or 11 years old. At the time my family was living in Thailand, where the intense humidity ensured that my taffy always came out strange and melty. I was only able to produce a perfect batch once we had returned to the United States. This is a very fun thing to make with a bunch of friends. Hold a taffy pull and call all your friends over!

Ingredients:

1 cups sugar

3 TB margarine

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup molasses (honey can be used instead for honey taffy, but this will make your taffy much more susceptible to humidity sabotage and it will not keep for as long)

1/2 cup water

2 tsp plain vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, then cook rapidly, without stirring, till syrup forms a hard ball in cold, clean water.

Remove from heat. Pour onto a large buttered platter and cool until easy to handle. Immediately after emptying pan, fill with HOT tap water and allow to sit until taffy dissolves. Otherwise you will NEVER get it off. Not in a million years.

Butter hands, pick up the candy one half at a time, and pull back and forth until the taffy is light, satiny, and golden and holds its shape. (While working one half, place remaining taffy in a 200-degree oven to keep soft).

Twist each half into a rope about 1/2-inch in diameter. Snip ropes into pieces 1" in length with buttered kitchen scissors or butter knife.

Let stand on wax paper until firm, then wrap pieces with wax paper or plastic wrap.

WARNING: If your fillings are loose or your jaws are weak, taffy is not for you. Don't say I didn't warn you