TAFFY: Another activity Ormsby resident Andy Heffner used to do with his grandmother as a child: make taffy.

She’d invite the grandchildren over and, without telling them why, have them go outside and pack down some clean snow.

“She would cook that taffy down on the stove, then have everybody get their hands buttered” — while keeping their coats and hats on.

Then she’d drizzle the taffy in the snow.

Once the boiling-hot taffy cooled down, the grandchildren would pull the taffy until it changed color from brown to a gold color.

“It’s kind of a fun little thing to do with your kids in the winter time,” Andy noted.

In fact, he passed along his grandmother’s recipe for anyone who wanted to give their children a break from video games this winter.

Here’s Andy’s recipe for “Grandma’s ‘Molasses Taffy.’”

Ingredients:

2 cups molasses

1 cup white sugar

¾ cup water

⅛ teaspoon soda

4 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

Cook the molasses, sugar and water to a hard ball at 270 degrees, stirring the whole time to prevent it from burning. Remove the mixture from the heat and add butter, soda and vanilla. Stir enough to mix well. Pour into snow, and let cool enough to be handled. Pull until golden. Then eat!