A Big Thank You and a Jar Full of Taffy

To say that I was overwhelmed by the kindness and thoughtfulness of my readers for the past few weeks would be quite an understatement. Every comment left on my last post felt like a great, big hug and I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to write and think positive thoughts for me. Thank you, so much! And thank you for being patient with me. I'm catching up on your posts and trying to leave a comment. Thanks for understanding. I haven't been doing a lot of "fun" baking lately but I wanted to share this fun activity I did with the kids.

Saint Catherine's Taffy is a tradition in Québec and I remember making it only once when I was about 8 years old. I came home from school with a recipe for taffy and my mom agreed to make some with me. It was so much fun! Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I was watching a Ricardo episode with Tom. Ricardo was making said taffy and my little guy looked at me and I knew we would have to make taffy. We waited for the weekend so Annabelle could partake in the fun and, oh, what fun we had!

Buttery, sticky hands and laughing kids. Could there be anything better? And the taffy even tasted just like I remembered! The kids loved it, even had a few pieces before lunch. I know, I know... But how could I say no when they'd been working so hard pulling and twisting the taffy! Thank goodness Martin took some of it to his co-workers because we made a lot of taffy.

So, even if it isn't Saint Catherine's day, making taffy is a great activity and the taffy makes a wonderful homemade gift. Get pulling everyone!

Saint Catherine's Taffy adapted from Ricardo Magazine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 cup salted butter (plus more for buttering hands!)
1/2 tsp baking soda
parchment paper, cut into squares, for wrapping

Butter a 13 X 9 inch Pyrex baking dish and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses, water, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until your candy thermometer (you'll need one for this recipe!) hits 260F. Remove from the heat and mix in the baking soda. Pour the taffy into the prepared Pyrex dish. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is cool enough to handle. It should still be warm though as it will be too hard to pull if it's cool.

Once you're ready to begin pulling, butter your hands (kids LOVE this part!), grab the taffy and pull. Fold it in half, twist it up, pull again. Repeat until the taffy takes on a lighter, golden color, about 10 minutes. Cut the taffy in half and pull it, once piece at a time into a 1/2-inch tube. Cut the tube into 1-inch pieces and set them aside on your prepared baking sheet. Wrap the taffy pieces in parchment paper. If it is wrapped well, the taffy will keep for weeks at room temperature.