Bluegrass Candy Mountain’s successful return after one year.

Bluegrass Candy Mountain Delights Henry County Residents

After one full year back in business, Bluegrass Candy Mountain has made rounds to all kinds of events throughout Henry County, including the New Castle Farmers Market held at Courthouse Square on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

A Sweet Success

“It makes us feel good when people come up and say, ‘You’re who we’re looking for,’” said co-owner Matt Sanders.

Delectable Treats

There are many reasons why folks would be searching for Bluegrass Candy Mountain at events such as:

“Famous Soft Chewy Caramels” in flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, cinnamon, cheesecake, chocolate, caramel apple, lemon, and strawberry
Chocolate treats including chocolate-covered “Cocoa Bombs” and chocolate caramel hearts with shells of fine Belgian white, dark, or milk chocolate
Vanilla and lemon meringue flavored “Modjeskas” of marshmallows dipped in caramel
Peanut butter, chocolate, and chocolate walnut “Old Fashioned Fudge”

The Trio Behind the Magic

Sanders is part of the trio who own and operate Bluegrass Candy Mountain, which includes his wife Jackie and Tammy Payton. While they all work events and ensure that all their products are made and packaged by hand, Matt is the caramel expert.

“Caramel is a bit tricky to make,” he said. “It’s very temperamental. It’s time-consuming to make it just the way we like to make it.”

As for the chocolate products, Jackie Sanders takes the lead.

“I’m the one who does all the tempering of the chocolate,” she said.

The chocolate they prepare is used for sweets ranging from truffles to the chocolate-covered caramel “Cocoa Bombs.”

“Cocoa Bombs are our biggest seller,” she said.

Fudge and No-Bake Delights

Not to be outdone on the Bluegrass Candy Mountain menu are the fudge and no-bake cookies.

“I’m the fudge and no-bake,” Tammy Payton said of her role. “They were my mom’s (Susie Payton) recipe, and we still continue on with them.”

The fudge and no-bake cookies were part of the candy company operation in its previous manifestation when Payton’s mother worked with them. However, that first version of Bluegrass Candy Mountain ended around the time of her mother’s passing in 2017.

“When we started back up, I told them I’d like to try the fudge and no-bake, and it took off,” Tammy Payton said.

Reestablishing Bluegrass Candy Mountain

Matt Sanders also shared some insights about the first go-around of Bluegrass Candy Mountain.

“We were doing this back in 2014 for a couple of years, and then life happened,” he said. “We started doing it again last year.”

He remarked about how well the company’s return has been received by the Henry County and regional community.

“The local support has been incredible,” he said.

Sanders also mentioned that their business is a willing participant in community fundraisers through donations and auctions. He added that the company will work with customers for special orders and themed events. Furthermore, Sanders revealed that Bluegrass Candy Mountain is on the verge of expansion.

“We have a home-based business, but we are in the process of setting up a commercial kitchen at Carpenters Lane Coffee Company in (downtown) Owenton,” he said.