Pulled Mints

Choose a sunny day for making pulled mints; they won’t cook up or cream up in rainy or humid weather. Dry weather is key.

Place the water, butter, and vinegar in a large, heavy saucepan and insert a candy thermometer. Set over low heat and as soon as the butter melts, mix in the sugar. Heat slowly without stirring until the mixture reaches 267° F. This may take as long as 35 or 40 minutes. Meanwhile, generously butter a large baking sheet and set aside.
Set the candy off the heat and add the peppermint and vanilla extracts and the yellow and green food coloring. Do not stir.
Pour the hot candy onto the buttered baking sheet and cool until you can make a thumbprint in the surface. With lightly buttered hands, gather the candy into a ball and knead in the flavorings, food coloring, and melted butter; it won’t have combined with the candy.
When the candy is stiff enough to pull, stretch into thin strands, then reshape into a ball. Continue pulling, twisting, and reshaping until the candy takes on a silvery sheen and becomes too stiff to pull.
Quickly stretch and twist into a rope about 1 inch in diameter, then, with buttered kitchen shears, snip crosswise at ½-inch intervals.
Wrap each mint in wax paper, place in an airtight canister, and allow to “season” for about a week. Taffy-stiff when they go into the canister, the mints will emerge at week’s end as soft as butter creams.