Mrs. Nelson’s Candy House Chelmsford MA – Old Fashioneds

Candy houses remind me of my canasta playing grandmother- I can just imagine her stopping by  a shop just like Mrs. Nelson's to buy a little hostess gift box (bridge mix? canasta mix?) for one of her card playing cronies.

(image from my collection of Retro Roadmap vintage postcards)

Mrs. Nelson's Candy House in Chelmsford MA was started 55 years ago by the Nelson family, and has been owned by veteran candy maker Arthur Mapes and his family since 1984. Originally the cheery barn red you see in the vintage post card, the store has been repainted white, but still has the monogrammed awnings and distinctive sign out front.

The folks at Mrs. Nelsons pride themselves on using only top shelf ingredients- cream, butter, honey, and specially blending their own chocolates, made daily on the premises. They also ship their delicious candies all over the world, and are so old timey that they don't even have a website. You can call them or stop by and pick out a treat for you or someone special.

Candy has its seasons, with Valentines, Easter and Christmas being the biggies and the summer being the off season, so I felt a bit like a goof when I realized that the chocolates I bought would melt in the sweltering July heat.  I did not need any further excuse to gobble my chocolate haystacks (toasted coconut n chocolate- yum) down quickly!

They talk about being a kid in a candy store, but being an adult in a candy store is equally as delicious. One thing that stands out about independent candy stores is while they do have the pre-made assorted boxes of candies for a quick gift, you can also have them create one with nothing but your favorite candies in there! No rosewater cremes or dark covered jellies unless you want 'em Now how fun is that to think of  a box of candies with nothing but winners in it? The mind boggles.

One thing I just have to share with you Retro Roadmappers is a culinary treat I think is only indigenous to the Chelmsford-Lowell area, as I can find no mention of it on the internets. The "Corn Cake and Old Fashion" combo.

As I was waiting for my order to be rung up I spied a basket of Corn Cakes & Old Fashions at the counter. Having never seen this pairing before, I asked the girl behind the counter what the story was. She explained that you are supposed to smoosh and spread around the Old Fashioned (dark chocolate covered vanilla cremes) on the top of the corn cake for an extra sweet treat.

I had never heard of these before, but did see them being advertised at Danas Market when I was there. Had it not been so hot in my car, I would've picked one up to eat later for...research, yeah, that's it, research.

Lo and behold, the handy booklet that I picked up from Mrs. Nelson's lists that very combo:

A local Chelmsford treat! A square carmel corn cake with 2 pieces of dark chocolate Vanilla cremes sitting on top. Smush the cremes on the cake and enjoy!

Is there a Little Candy House By The Side Of The Road where you live? Let me know about it, and with my sweet tooth, you know I'd be more than happy to put it on the Retro Roadmap!