You don’t see much candymaking anymore. I think people generally have the view that they want the time they invest in cooking to manifest into something “wholesome.” I would posit that there are worse things in the world than sugar and that much of the commercially-prepared sweets have things far more worrying than sugars.
This isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with commercial candy; I’m just saying, don’t discount the value of homemade sweets on the theory that all sweets are bad and therefore it doesn’t matter how bad any of them are.
From a box sold in Columbiaville, Michigan.
Combine 2c. sug., 1 c. lite corn syrup + 1/2 c. water in med. size heavy pan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Wrap a fork w. damp paper toweling, wipe sug. crystals from side of pan as mixture cooks.
Lower heat; cook without stirring to 300 dec. (a t. full of syrup will separate into threads that are hard + brittle when dropped in cold water). Remove from heat.
Stir in 1 1/2 t. of either anise, peppermint or lemon extract + enough red, grn, or yellow fd. coloring to tint.
Arrange wooden sticks on lge., oiled cooky sheets. Immediately pour mixture in a thin stream over ea. skewer into rounds as lge. as you wish. Power as many as you can decorate before mixture hardens.
Decorate w/ gumdrops + hard candies. Keep syrup fluid by placing pan in larger pan filled w/ boiling water.
Cool till firm.