Horehound candy brings back memories of my youth. I'm not really old enough for this to be the case, but in my small hometown, old-fashioned candy was still in fashion, and sarsaparilla and horehound flavored candy were available in the local candy store. Originally, horehound candies were used as cough drops, but apparently the bitter-sweet flavor became a widely-spread choice of candy over time. It's a little more difficult to find horehound candy these days. However, if you have an herb garden, horehound is easy to grow, and the candy is easy to make.
Horehound plant:
Old-Fashioned Horehound Candy
2 cups chopped horehound leaves and stems
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup molasses
1 cup honey
3 cups brown sugar
3 T salted butter
Boil water in a saucepan. Add horehound leaves, and stew for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue to steep leaves in hot water for another 30 minutes. Strain horehound leaves and stems, and pour the horehound "tea" water into a 4-quart pot. Add other ingredients and combine, then bring to a boil. Do not stir once the candy is boiling. Using a thermometer, bring the mixture to 300ºF - 310ºF. Pour over a large, buttered cookie sheet. Allow to cool, just until you can touch it, then roll into tiny balls and sprinkle with white sugar. Hint: you have to work fast to roll the candy before it hardens. You may want to have 2 -3 helpers to do this.
Other options (if you don't want to roll the candy) are below:
Square version (score candy with a knife as it cools, then break into squares):
Broken version (allow to cool, then break into pieces):
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