Memphis-made merriment
The way to a person’s heart is most definitely through their stomach. Anyone who loves to eat (and who doesn’t?) will appreciate a thoughtful gift of a sweet treat.
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Whether it’s caramels, dessert toppings, candies or jams, there is a Memphis-made treat that will make the perfect edible Christmas gift.
Shirley Ann’s Sweets: Chocolate-dipped cordial cherries
Stephanie Taylor and Sherry Creasman first started making chocolate-dipped cherries to give as Christmas gifts.
“We received rave reviews about how delicious they were and, at that moment, I knew we had a unique decadent treat that people would love to give to others,” Taylor said. The duo makes a one-of-a-kind confection. “Our cherries are special because each cherry is hand-wrapped in fondant and then dipped in your choice of milk or dark chocolate,” Taylor said. “Over a two-week period, the
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Here are seven of our favorite Memphis-made sweet treats to give — and receive. cherries sit while the fondant inside liquefies to create the delicious cordial center.”
Their cherries come packaged in various sizes, ranging from a single cherry box up to an 18-count box.
“Many people use the individual cherries for place settings, and our two and four counts make the perfect small gift,” Taylor said. “Each box is wrapped with twine and holiday greenery, which makes it a perfect ready-to-give treat.”
Shirley Ann’s Sweets cherries are available at shirleyannssweets.com and at Pickering Boxwood, as well as at the Merle Norman stores in Atoka and Ripley. Loren Powell began her business literally out of her back house — hence the name. “I had thought about starting a business with my great-grandmother Nana’s fudge sauce recipe for years,” Powell said. “In the fall of 2016, when my daughter left for college and my son started driving, I decided it was time to get busy.”
Two years later, Backhouse Foods has expanded its product line and now offers four dessert sauce flavors: hot fudge, praline, walnuts and butterscotch.
In addition to serving the sauces over ice cream, they can be used to sweeten a number of dishes.
“The walnuts sauce makes a wonderful appetizer with baked brie, and everyone loves them on waffles, pancakes and French toast,” Powell said. “I love the butterscotch sauce with crisp apples and pears. The praline sauce is ridiculous with bread pudding and crepes, and I have several customers who add a spoonful of the hot fudge sauce to their coffee.”
You can find Backhouse Foods products online at backhousefoods.com and at The Stovall Collection,Dixie Pickers, Buster’s Liquors, Novel, Pickering Boxwood and The Woman’s Exchange.
Bluff City Toffee: Chocolate toffee
Bluff City Toffee began out of the home kitchen of Stephanie Upshaw.
“I have made toffee as a go-to Christmas gift for family and friends for more than 25 years. It quickly became a highly coveted and requested gift,” Upshaw said. “When my daughter went off to college in 2016, I decided to take my friends’ advice to start a business selling this delicious treat locally. With an overwhelming response from the Bluff City, I moved into a commercial kitchen in January 2018 and now have an online store and am in several retail stores.”
Upshaw’s special confection is her twist on English toffee, using locally sourced Southern ingredients. She started her business with the Milk Chocolate Pecan Toffee she had made for decades. Just recently she added a second flavor: Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee with Sea Salt.
Her toffees come in assorted sizes, and custom packaging is available.
Bluff City Toffee is available online at bluffcitytoffee.com and at Buster’s Liquors, Dixie Pickers, Pickering Boxwood, Superlo Foods, Cordelia’s Market, The Curb Market, Social, Palladio, Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More, Wine Market, Bingham & Broad and Southern Muse.
Judy #Pound Cakes: Pound cakes
If you are looking for a sweet treat to give during the holidays, a pound cake is the perfect gift — especially if it’s a Judy #Pound Cake.
Judy Douglass has perfected the pound cake. She has been baking her pound cakes her whole life, using her mother’s recipe.
“My hobby of loving to cook, bake and entertain is how the business of Judy #Pound Cakes began,” she said. “It all started by word of mouth among friends who knew I enjoyed making them. About six years ago when my husband told me he couldn’t take ‘all these cakes around’ that were waiting to be picked up, he suggested that I quit or get my own commercial kitchen. Well, that’s just what I did and a business was born.”
Douglass has 11 flavors in her pound cake line, ranging from cinnamon pecan to raspberry almond. Each cake is a small round that comes in her signature box. Her cakes have a shelf life of just over two weeks and will freeze for six months.
Judy #Pound Cakes are available online at judypoundcakes.com and at Whole Foods Market, High Point Grocery, Cordelia’s Market, Superlo Foods, Pugh’s Flowers, Buster’s Liquors, Palladio Antiques, and Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More.
Sweet LaLa’s Bakery: Cookies
Sweet LaLa’s Bakery bakes some pretty delicious cookies, with a mission to make the world a little sweeter.
“I began the bakery to help create a path of employment for juvenile offenders and get attention for the great work of JIFF, who is the leading provider of re-entry services in Shelby County,” owner Lauren Young said.
Using Young’s family recipe, Sweet LaLa’s Original LaLa cookies have a soft texture and a hint of almond. Each is drizzled with sweet icing glaze. She also offers Lemon LaLa, a Chocolate LaLa and cinnamon-y Snika LaLa flavors.
“We have something for every budget, but we love our newest holiday gift box called Mission Made because it highlights other socially minded organizations who make with purpose like we do,” Young said. “We always carry our popular Dainty Dozen Tins, as those make perfect corporate and neighbor gifts.”
Cookies and holiday gift sets can be ordered online at sweetlalas.com. Individually wrapped cookies can be found at Baptist Collierville Hospital, Buster’s Liquors, Central BBQ, The Curb Market, Dazzle, Novel, Pickering Boxwood and Palladio.
Dodson’s Farms: Jams & Jellies
Dodson’s Farm Jams & Jellies is a mother-daughter business run by Carolyn Dodson-King and her mother, Bonnie Dodson.
“We have a love for making products that taste good, support local growers and are enjoyed by our customers,” Dodson-King said.
The mother-daughter team makes a line of uniquely flavored jams and jellies from fruits and vegetables grown on her family farm and from neighboring farmers.
Each year for the holidays, they make two special jams. Their Christmas Spirit Jam is a holiday-spiced mixture of strawberries, cranberries, orange juice, orange liquor and spices.
“We also make a Cranberry Jalapeno Jam that is fabulous with cream cheese and crackers,” Dodson-King said.
Dodson’s Farms products can be found at The Curb Market, Trolley Stop Market, Easel Town and White’s Mercantile in Wilson, Arkansas.
Wolf River Popcorn: Caramel corn
“Wolf River Popcorn evolved from our giving our family recipe caramel corn to friends at Christmas,” said Jan Owen, who runs Wolf River Popcorn with her husband, Jim. “One of them asked us to make 30 gifts for his clients, and he said he would actually pay us for them. Next thing we knew, we had a business.”
A classic sweet caramel corn was the original flavor, but the couple decided to get creative with their offerings, adding a white cheddar popcorn and a spicy barbecue caramel corn.
“Our objective is to make popcorn flavors that adults of all ages, but particularly younger people, will enjoy,” Owen said. “One of our most popular gifts is ‘The Taste of Memphis.’ We put Classic Caramel, Memphis Mix Mild and Better White Cheddar together in a bright red gift bag with white trim and a red satin bow … a terrific way to taste all of our best-selling flavors.”
Wolf River Popcorn can be found at Cordelia’s Market, Kroger, Buster’s Liquors, Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More, Superlo Foods, Novel, Charlie’s Meat Market, The Guest House at Graceland, Ghost River Brewing Co. Tap Room and Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.
Jennifer Chandler is the food and dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.