Saltwater Taffy

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon oil of peppermint (or other flavoring)
7 drops of food coloring (optional coloring to match flavoring)
1 cup of water
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Butter the sides of a 2-quart saucepan and add sugar, corn syrup, 1-cup water and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking to 275 degrees, without stirring. The mixture should boil gently.

Remove from heat and stir in butter or margarine. Add flavoring and food coloring. Pour into a buttered cake pan and cool about 30 minutes, until you can handle it easily. Butter hands and pull candy until it becomes difficult to pull.

Cut into four pieces and pull each piece into a long strand about 1/2 inch thick. With buttered scissors, snip bite-sized pieces and wrap with candy wrapping. Recipe makes about 1 1/2 pounds of candy.