I remember helping nana with the pulling and actually enjoying it. Now i have my lil guy help me! Its a bit of work but worth it in the end!! You can use many flavors for this peppermint, orange, vanilla, molasses, coffee, coconut, lemon, banana, lemon etc. Use your imagination! You can also use food coloring to color the taffy according to the flavor. you can wrap the taffy in small papers and twist and tie ends and make little boxes as gifts or favors for parties. You can also twist two different color ropes or two different flavored ropes together and then cut or form into shapes to come up with even more unique flavors.

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup white corn syrup
1 t salt
2 t glycerin (you should be able to get this at walgreens cvs etc in the pharmacy department)
1 t vanilla (or whatever other flavor you prefer)
2 t butter


1
Put all ingredients except the vanilla (or whatever flavor you use) and butter into a heavy sauce pan.
2
Bring your taffy to a boil over medium high heat. Let it keep on a boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees. This should take about 35-40 minutes. (if you put a bit of taffy on a spoon and run some cold water over the top it should look kind of stiff if it is ready to go..over cooking makes it hard to pull and under cooking makes it too sticky to pull)
3
Remove taffy from heat and add vanilla. Then add butter and stir until all the butter has melted.
4
Butter a cookie sheet and Pour the taffy onto the sheet (it should be a golden yellowish color)
5
Let taffy cool until it is cool enough to handle. Now pinch taffy on sheet into about 12 seperate sections. (little circlish shapes on the sheet)
6
When the candy is cool enough to pick up everyone gets a piece and it is time to start pulling and folding. Pull and stretch the taffy and then fold it into itself. pull and fold over and over until your taffy is a nice white color.
7
Now stretch these pieces into ropes and put on wax paper. Now break it into pieces and wrap in wax paper twisted at edges. (A grandma tip: hold rope in palm of your hand and tap it with the back end of a butter knife or similiar object. this should break the taffy easily.
8
Note: If adding food coloring to taffy add it at the same time you add the flavoring.

Nana's Pierogies

My Nana would take me to my cousin Jeannies house every year to make these. We would roll out the dough and they would let me help cut them, fill them and seal them. I felt like such a big part of the process. However I must say the best part was eating them : )

I enjoy them best with potato and cheese, however you can also fill them with potato and saurkraut or potato and spinich and cheese as well as many other combinations.

Serve them boiled with butter, or pan fried with onions or deep fried like they do at the fairs.

Try them topped with salsa or even pasta sauce. Your imagination is your only limit to how you can fix em up!

My fav way to eat them is pan fried with onions or scallions and lots of butter! Or deep fried then brushed with a bit of butter

Nana always made my tastebuds happy :)

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 egg
3/4 cup warm water
2 t oil
1/2 t salt
POTATO AND CHEESE FILLING
1 1/2 to 2 lbs baking potatoes (i like mine plump so i use more)
2-3 t butter
1 small vidalia onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
grated cheddar cheese (amount depends on how cheesy you like yours..so between 4 to 8 oz)
salt pepper and garlic powder


Mix the flour and salt in a deep mixing bowl.

Add egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.

Knead dough on a floured surface until the dough is smooth.
Do NOT over knead dough or it will become tough!

Divide your dough into two parts and cover them. Allow to set covered for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare Filling:
Boil potatoes until they are soft. Drain and return to pot.

Melt butter and oil on medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Just till onions are softened. Lower your heat and cook until onions are lightly browned or carmelized. Season with salt and pepper. ( You can add more butter while cooking to avoid the onions burning)

Add onions once they are cooled to potatos. Then add cheese. Mash until all large potato lumps are gone and cheese and onions are blended into potatoes. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Set aside.

Prepare pierogies:
Roll the dough out thin on a floured surface. Cut circles using a large biscuit cutter, or the mouth of a large glass. Place a spoonful of potatoe and cheese filling in each circle and fold over to make a half circle. Make sure no filling is near the edges. Press the edges together with your fingers to seal each pierogi. Making sure they are sealed well so filling doesnt come out while cooking. Put filled pierogi on a floured surface and cover with a tea towel to keep them from drying up.

( you can seal them with a little water & press down on edges with a fork to help keep them from coming apart while cooking)

Cooking Pierogies:
COOKING: Drop a few pierogies (about 6)into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water. (I add oil to the water to help prevent them from sticking together)
Do not cook too many at a time or they will not cook correctly.
Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate pierogies and to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot or each other.
Boil for 3-4 minutes or until they are puffed up.
Remove pierogies from water with a slotted spoon or skimmer and transfer to a colander to drain completely.
Transfer to a deep dish, and generously add melted butter to prevent them from sticking.

Serve with melted butter and fried onions

To reheat: Pan fry in butter until browned and serve with onions or scallions, or deep fry and brush with butter before serving (I love them this way)


Freezing:If you choose not to cook all the pierogies at this time, you can refrigerate uncooked pierogies for several days or freeze them for several months.