From creamy caramels to cherry cordials enrobed in chocolate—whatever your weakness, you’re in luck. Washington is home to a number of handcrafted confections for any sweet craving.
In Spokane Bruttles fuses brittle and nut butter into a soft peanut brittle treat. Created in 1951 for a customer with fragile chompers, the candy is made using a process that remains a family secret to this day.
Chukar Cherries in Prosser plucks dried bing and rainiers from local trees and dips them in either dark or milk chocolate. The result: a mildly tart one-of-a-kind candy. The company stirs things up, too, with citrusy tangerine chocolate cherries. Find Chukar stores in Seattle and Leavenworth, too.
Stay in the heart of Apple Country to visit Cashmere’s Liberty Orchards. The candy maker invites visitors in to take a tour and sample aplets and cotlets, a Pacific Northwest staple. Made using an Armenian recipe, aplets combine Washington apples and crushed walnuts—dusted with powdered sugar—for a Turkish Delight–esque treat. Cotlets mirror the same formula—only with apricots.
Both Bobby Flay and Martha Stewart praised the intense notes and layers of flavor that Fran Bigelow swirls into her signature chocolates at her namesake candy company, Fran’s Chocolates. With four stores in the Seattle area, it first introduced smoked-salt caramels to candy lovers. This delightful indulgence harmonizes bold sea salt, buttery caramel, and couverture for one seductive bite.
Prefer something crunchy? Brown & Haley in Tacoma has been turning out batches of crunchy Almond Roca since 1923. The original butter crunch toffee comes wrapped in foil and has generated a variety of spin-off flavors, including cashew, macadamia, and peppermint.
-- Heather Larson