Horehound Candy A Cough Cure That Works! Old School! - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 teaspoons horehound leaves
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup molasses

Preparation

Black strap molasses is recommended.
Let 1 cup horehound tea steep for about 3 minutes, or to taste. ( Made into tea with 1 cup boiling water). Do this with a regular coffee pot.
In a saucepan with the sides buttered, add 1 cup horehound tea, 2 cups of sugar and 3 tablespoons butter + molasses.
Bring to a boil with medium heat and continue to boil until temperature on a candy thermometer reaches 260-270 degrees. (This is really important because if it goes higher than this, the rolling and twisting becomes unmanageable. Gets hard to fast.).
Pour into a buttered pan and let set until cool enough to handle.
Pull candy with buttered hands, twisting into ropes 4-5 inches long. Snip into pieces with kitchen shears.
When cut, place all the pieces in a plastic container with sugar and shake for coating.
NOTES: to prevent unnecessary crystalization, never stir the pot or scrape the pan.