Well, my first attempt was a qualified success.
Kalustyan’s delivered a pound of food-grade ammonium chloride crystals as promised, along with some other items I picked out. They seem to be a solid operation and I’d order from them again. Thanks to Jeff_Lichtman for the find.
I synthesized a licorice recipe from a few online sources, such as Dessert For Two and the YouTuber Todd’s Kitchen. (I’m pretty sure his way of pronouncing “anise extract” isn’t typical for Aussies, but from now on I’m totally going to pretend that it is.)
I was surprised to see the recommended cooking temperature vary widely among recipes. I thought that was a pretty important aspect of candymaking. I intended to go with 245° F, but was only able to get it to 235°, as I used too small of a saucepan and it was threatening to boil over.
After taking it off the heat, I stirred in a conservative ammount of ammonium chloride. I poured some of the mixture into a muffin pan, adding measured amounts of ammonium chloride to the main pot between cups. The rest went into a parchment-lined 8x8" pan, and it all got refrigerated overnight.
I’m really happy with the flavor - it’s heavy on butter and molasses, with pleasing notes of anise (teehee) and salty funk. I like the samples with the highest concentration of ammonium chloride the best.
Unfortunately the consistency is much too soft. It stuck to the parchment, and while I was able to peel it off after putting it in the freezer for a couple of hours, it’s still much too loose and sticky to cut into easily handleable pieces. I’m sure cooking temperature is the main culprit.
I tried dusting some with a 2:1 mixture of confectioner’s sugar and ammonium chloride, but the consistency is such that the pieces just fell apart. It also didn’t contribute much to the taste.
Overall, I think this was a pretty decent piece of mad science. The results are tasty, though messy. I plan to try again at some point, with a higher temperature and maybe a little more salt.