5337. Go to Vande Walle’s Candy in Appleton

 Driving home from the T-Rats game, we drove by Vande Walle's Candy by the mall. I casually mentioned, I've never been in Vande Walle's. . I've had their candy before and even did a chocolate book pairing with the Menasha library but in the 20 years I've been here in the Valley, I never stopped at Vande Walle's. Not sure why. I drove by it enough. The hubby was like "really?" and turned around so we could go check it out

Vande Walle's Candies is located by the Fox River Mall in Appleton.. technically Grand Chute but minor details... It is open 8-8 M-F, 8-6 on Saturdays, and 10-6 on Sundays. 

The hubby warned me it is not a big store. Looks are deceiving since the building looks like a giant 2 story house. It is definitely not that big inside. It is bigger than Oak's in Oshkosh and does have displays of chocolate goodies scattered on tables around the floor. I thought the Nutterflies looked adorable.

Like any good chocolate store, there is homemade truffles and other yummy treats in the case.

Besides selling chocolate, they also have a bakery. There were cookies and cakes and all sorts of yummy goodness to ogle over.

We ended up picking up the mini cheesecakes for dessert, along with a dozen cookies, and some truffles for me. I also splurged on some mini macaroons. 

I know the truffles were good since I them before at the chocolate tasting.

The hubby and I both said my cheesecake is better. Theirs was good but apparently I make a mean cheesecake. 

The cookies were delicious and we would definitely get the cookies again.

The macaroons were not bad. The watermelon one did taste like watermelon bubble gum but the tiramisu was lacking in flavor. The root beer one sounded intriguing. I got the watermelon one because it was cute looking.

I definitely needed to get to Vande Walle's sooner but it was probably a good thing I didn't... my wallet might not like me. Now I just need to get to Wilmar's in Appleton and check out their new location in Neenah for the melted chocolate bar.

If you are by the mall in Appleton, definitely check out Vande Walle's. I'm sure you will find a treat you can't wait to indulge in. 

25 in 2025 -- Visit a New Chocolate/Candy Shop -- Ashley’s Confectionery

As soon as I posted my 25 in 2025 list, Andrea asked if I was to the chocolate shop in Kohler. I told her I think after the beer run many years ago. Turns out that beer run was 10 years ago and I'm still pretty sure we checked the chocolate shop. So I was still on the hunt for a new chocolate shop for this year.

It turned out it was easier than I thought. I thought I might had to wait until girls weekend. I just needed an adventure with Stacy. While we were exploring downtown Cedarburg, Stacy mentioned wanting to go to Amy's Candy Kitchen. I happened to notice Ashley's Confectionary across the street. I mentioned we can go to Amy's if we can also check out Ashley's. That was not a problem.

Ashley's Confectionary is located downtown Cedarburg on Washington St. It is open daily 11-5 (until 6 on Saturdays).

I was surprised by the size. It was much bigger than Amy's. There was plenty of room for customers even a small seating area. There was your typical kid candy such as Soda Can Fizzy Candy in the middle of the store. I tend to avoid this area. I want the good stuff

There was pre-packaged homemade candy such as cordials in a variety of flavors and espresso beans. Many looked tempting but I went straight to my favorites.

They had truffles. I love truffles. The had small and large truffles. I opted for the small truffles so I could get a few flavors. They were many flavors to choose from and I had a hard time deciding. I ended up with 2 milk chocolate caramel truffles and a milk chocolate truffle for the hubby. I opted for a caramel, a mint, and a champagne truffle all in dark chocolate for myself. 

Unlike most truffles that I have had, these had a extra thick outer coating. It was unexpected but good. It just took a bigger bite to get to the creamy middle. All the truffles were amazing. The caramel was probably my least favorite but it was on the sweeter side. 

We definitely will be back. I think the hubby was slightly disappointed that I went to Ashley's instead of Amy's (he likes Amy's coconut clusters) but did gave his seal approval for the truffle. I guess he wasn't that disappointed. 

Now I may have to go to Amy's for coconut clusters and Ashley's for truffles when in Cedarburg. I still do have to have to try a caramel apple from Amy's. Stay tuned for that adventure. 

Let's see if I find any other good truffles this year. 

Oh Look a Candy Store

 After Heather and I left Twigs, we headed back downtown to visit Shawano Library as part of the OWLS Library Road Trip. Heather sees a sign for a candy store and was like "Do you want to stop?". I never will pass up an opportunity to stop at a candy store. Besides I have this insane goal of visiting a candy store, among other things, in all 50 states and all 72 WI counties. This would knock Shawano County off the list. 

Old Glory Candy is a small candy shop in Shawano. It is open 7 days a week. 

It has several wooden racks of pre-package homemade candies including several sugar free varieties.

There were old school lollipops and other candy treats you would normally find in a candy store scattered around the edges of the stores on wooden racks or in wooden barrels. 

All the good stuff of course was behind the counter. One case had homemade truffles. The varieties made it difficult for me to choose for myself but even harder to find one that hubby would like. I ended up with good choices -- Jack Daniels for me and Cookies and Cream for the hubby.

There was also a case of homemade fudge.. small batch homemade fudge. Heather picked up some fudge for her family. She had some hard choices to decide which four flavors. When you buy a pound, you get a 1/4 lb free. So she got Whiskey Old Fashion and gave me a portion. It was also delicious. 

If you are going to Shawano, stop by this small business and salsify your sweet tooth. There is something for everyone. The prices are very reasonable. Grab your soda at Twigs and candy at Old Glory Candy before headed out to the lake. It is definitely worth the stop.