If anywhere on the planet smelled like Christmas, it would be David and Kathy Nolan’s finished basement. Scents of butter, sugar and happiness float through the air.
The basement of the home, nestled between Bentley and Sedgwick, has been a toffee-making factory at the holidays for the past 30 years, including this one. David makes the toffee and his co-workers, boss and wife help break it up, package it and mail it off to friends, family and customers.
"It used to be kind of a friends-and-family thing, a lot of co-workers and things like that," David said about toffee recipients.
During the last several years, they’ve added really good customers to the mix. Most of the customers are in swine production.
"I’m a vet and I specialize in swine," David said.
On Monday, his co-workers and boss came from all parts of the country to help package and send the toffee. David said they’re all friends who work for the same company in the swine industry and he’s always been in that industry. They work remotely from home and get together once a year for this.
David is the only one, though, who makes the toffee, which is chockfull of pecans and chocolate.
"He won’t let us touch it," co-worker Matt Wilcox said about making the treats.
Wilcox flew in from LaFayette, Ind., to help out.
He said customers who’ve had it talk about it all year long.
David makes about 350 pounds of toffee during the holidays all by hand, creating it in 5-pound batches.
"That’s a big batch if you’re making it for your family, but it’s a small batch if you’re doing 350 pounds," David said.
The toffee is called Doc Nolan’s Pecan Toffee.
Wilcox said he tried to recreate the toffee with no luck. The recipe is so precise it needs a certain type of stove and a certain pan to cook it. David won’t share the recipe mostly out of respect for the people who have paid money for it. For instance, one person purchased the recipe for $2,000 at an American Association of Swine Veterinarians auction for scholarships.
Read the rest of the story and see pictures at Harvey County Now.
[Source: Harvey County Now 14 December 2022 By Wendy Nugent]