Lemonheads

I finally found & purchased one of the most vital ingredients in almost every sour candy-Citric Acid. (I found it at a kitchen supply store in the mall quite randomly after looking everywhere in Vermillion!) The label on my bottle says that:

"Citric Acid is a natural fruit acid with a strong, tart taste often used as a flavoring agent for foods or beverages. Used to enhance fruit flavors and as an antioxident to control discoloration of fruits."

It's also used to make candy delicious!!!


Acid drops or boiled sweets in Great Britain are one of those delicious treats! Drop candies were one of the first candies made by boiling sugar. Confectioners then learned that if you add acid, tartar, or fruit juice to the candies the sugar doesn't crystalize and thus hard candies came along.

Acid Drops (Lemon Drops)


1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
2 teaspoons citric acid (crystals or powder)
1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
Yellow food coloring
Sherbert Powder (see recipe below)

Ready to go!

1. Coat a baking pan with cooking spray. Lightly spray a pair of kitchen shears.


2. Combine sugar, cream of tartar, & 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.


3. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 300 degrees (hard crack stage). Immediately remove saucepan from heat.

Just making candy

4. Pour candy over the baking pan. Sprinkle the citric acid, lemon extract, & food coloring over the candy. Using a metal spatula or a bench scraper (don't know what that is?? haha), turn the mass in on itself until the citric acid and coloring have been distributed evenly.


5. Let the candy rest until it is cool enough to handle, but do not let is harden completely.


6. Roll the candy into long ropes. Cut the ropes into small pieces and roll them in the sherbert powder to coat before letting them fully harden on a clean baking sheet.

Folding in the citric acid, flavoring, & coloring

A lump of delicious

Candy ropes

Lemonhead Squares

Finished product dipped in the sherbert powder

Sherbert Powder


4 tablespoons of powdered sugar (sifted)
2 tablespoons citric acid (crystals or powdered)
1 tablespoon baking soda


1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until very fine.


2. Pour into a clean, dry container and enjoy!


Sherbert powder is awesome. I love, love sugary, sweet, & sour candies and sherbert powder can make anything into that. When exposed to moisture, it dissolves and begins to fizz and bubble. It's similar to Pop Rocks candy, but without the "pop" which is created with carbonation. You can add sherbert powder to any dessert or drink to add some kick, or you can eat it plain, like Pixy Stix. Matt likes to challenge people who stop by our house to take a lick of it without making a face. If they pass, he moves on to straight citric acid, which, if you can eat that straight without making a face, you have no taste buds!! (Our friend Sanger for example who claims he was the champion of eating sour WarHeads candy growing up without even flinching...haha)


These candies are surprisingly simple to make and don't make too big of a mess! The only thing to beware of is that once the mixture is cool enough to handle, there is a small timeframe where you can form your candies into shapes. I got to roll about half of the lemonheads into "lemon" shapes, but the rest stayed in the square shape from cutting them up. 

Strawberry Acid Drops
...that just doesn't sound good--I'm up for suggestions
on a good name for this treat

These were so easy and delicious that I immediately wanted to try them again in a different flavor, so I did sour strawberry and they turned out great. You just have to remember to let the candies harden completely before storing them away so they don't all stick to each other in a big ol' ball of sour.


My first hard candy, and it was a great success! :) 

I love candy!!