Kansas Road Trip: Henry’s Candy Co. in Dexter, Kansas

Sometimes you just need to get out of town and get back to nature. On one of our Kansas Road Trips, we took a day trip to see the waterfall at Cowley State Fishing Lake. On the way there, we stopped at Henry’s Candy Co. in Dexter, Kansas.

When we told the kids we were going to get candy, they jumped in the car so fast. Maybe I need to start telling them that when it’s time to go to school. Just maybe they’ll get ready faster! Lol!

Henry’s Candy Co. is located at 21172 K-15 Highway in Dexter, Kansas. It’s just a little over an hour drive from Wichita.

They have been making old fashioned handmade candies since 1956. That’s 4 generations of candy makers!  They make a wide variety of candies including fudge, hand pulled lollipops, taffy, old fashioned round candy sticks, sugar coated drops, peanut brittle and caramels-just to name a few.

When we arrived, they just happened to be making hand made sugar drops. We enjoyed watching them through the large glass window. We found out that on Sundays at 1:30 p.m., you can watch them making candy-usually lollipops are made on Sundays. Other days of the week you just might catch them making candy too or you can call ahead at (620) 876-5423 and find out when a good time to come in would be.

The highlight of the store was of course the candy itself and choosing just the right one! There was so much to choose from! The kids spent a long time searching for just the right candies. In the end, we tried the lollipops, salt water taffy, round candy sticks and sugar drops. I can not even begin to emphasize the freshness of Henry’s Candies. Everything was so delicious and practically melted in your mouth.

We tried several delicious flavors of sugar drops, but the most intriguing was the horehound flavor. While at Henry’s, we learned that horehound is an herb from the mint plant family. They grow it locally, make it into a tea, and infuse it into the candy. It has a mild, tea-like flavor and is great on its own or used as a natural cough drop. The kids preferred the more traditional candy flavors, but I really enjoyed this one too.

Money saving tip: They often have barrels with less than picture perfect candies for sale at a discounted price. These candies taste just the same as the other candies. They might just be slightly broken or misshapen.

Henry’s Candy Co. is open 363 days a year from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) They are closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. If you really want to try their candy, but can’t make the trip to their store, there are a few stores that sell some of their candy. This  includes Nifty Nut House in Wichita, which sells Henry’s sugar drops.

After we loaded up on sugary sweets, we decided to head over to the waterfall at Cowley State Fishing Lake. To see the next leg of our adventure, visit our Kansas Road Trip: Cowley State Fishing Lake post.  (If you’re going to the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, you won’t be far from Henry’s Candy Co.!)

Also, find out what you need in the car to make it a great Kansas Road Trip. And remember, no matter what adventure you choose:

Have fun and get out and explore Kansas on the cheap!