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Orange Cocoa Coffee Pulled Taffy

This orange cocoa coffee taffy is truly old-school deliciousness. Because of the magical properties of sugar, you can make it creamy or chewy, depending on how hot you cook the mix. I will show you how.
Course Candy
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10.5 oz (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
  • 8.25 oz (3/4 cup) corn syrup (light or dark)
  • 1 oz (1/3 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
  • 2 Tablespoons instant coffee
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider work fine)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3- drops orange oil
  • 2.25 oz (1/4 cup) evaporated milk
  • 1 Tablespoon softened butter
  • several shakes each of chocolate and orange bitters (optional but lovely)

Instructions

  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with Silpat. Set aside on a towel or on trivets convenient to the stove.
  • In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, corn syrup, cocoa powder, instant coffee, vinegar, salt and orange oil to a boil. Stir frequently.
  • When the mixture comes to a boil, add the evaporated milk and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 248F for creamy taffy or up to 255F (253-255F) for chewy taffy.
  • Once the candy reaches the magical temperature, pour it out onto the prepared pan. Shake the bitters over the surface of the candy. Let the whole deal cool until barely warm. You'll know it's ready to work when, when you fold the Silpat over so the candy folds in on itself, it adheres to itself and not to the Silpat. It'll probably take a good 20 minutes to cool. Since I am impatient, I kept folding the edges in with a silicone spatula and messing with it in general. It made me feel like I was doing something useful. Whether I was is debatable.
  • When the candy is finally cool enough to work with, rub a bit of butter on your hands and begin pulling the taffy. Just pick up the candy and stretch and twist it, then fold the rope you've made over on itself and stretch and twist some more.
  • Initially, the butter from your hands will coat the candy and keep the ropes from sticking together. This is annoying and you will feel like you are trying to pull Medusa's hair, but just keep at it. Eventually, the butter will be absorbed and the pulled strands will decide to stick together again. It will take awhile though. Just so you know.
  • Continue pulling the candy until it is much lighter in color and satiny. If you cook it to the lower temperature, I found it never got too hard to pull, so eventually I just stopped. But yesterday, I cooked the candy to 255F and it got so hard to pull that I had to enlist the aid of The Beloved. Once the candy is pulled and lovely, pull it into a rope about 1/2" thick and snip off bite-sized pieces with buttered scissors.
  • Wrap each piece individually in waxed paper or candy foils. We ended up with about 55 pieces of candy. You might end up with more or fewer, depending on how big you decide to make yours.
  • Share them with people you love.

Notes

I can't tell you how long the cook time is. it will depend on your stove, but don't walk away, and please use either a candy thermometer that stays in the pot or an instant read like I use.