About Hand Crafted at the Lakes
Hello and welcome to Hand Crafted at the Lakes!
My name is Sue. I live in Detroit Lakes - the Sunfish Capital of Minnesota - home of the renowned Jaycees Northwest Water Carnival and Parade of the Northwest - host of Polar Fest (THE best winter festival anywhere!), and much, much more. Almost everything in the Detroit Lakes area is about water, recreation, and fun - spring, summer, fall, and winter. If you haven't been here - you should definitely visit! I have three amazing young adults - Dakota, Bobby, and Jack - and three beautiful, sassy felines - Babe, Shadow, and Chloe. We are all thankful to live in a beautiful community where other people come to vacation!
After making homemade caramels on special occasions for many years, I obtained a Minnesota cottage food license in late 2021 and began selling my soft, handcrafted caramels to friends and family at Christmastime. They were a big hit - with many customers ordering once - and then again (and even again!) - before the holidays arrived. It gave me immense joy that so many people enjoyed the delicious treats that I love creating!
As Valentine's Day 2022 approached, I renewed my cottage food license and began playing around with a new candy. Because Valentine's Day is all about chocolate, I wanted to see what I could do with my original sea salt caramel, some pecans, and some really good dark chocolate. After a lot of experimentation, the result was my original soft, delicious caramel poured over pecans that I smoked with maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt - and then dredged in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt flakes. Once again, customers came back for more!
Around the same time, a customer asked if I could make some caramels for her husband with no nuts and milk chocolate instead of dark. I thought "why not?" - and they turned out fabulous. Then came even more inspiration - from customer suggestions, to seasonal flavors, and even from my own over-active brain - chocolate cinnamon, maple, cranberry orange, butter rum, apple cinnamon, almond - and the most "science-y" of them all - caramels made with beer brewed at Bucks Mill Brewing right here in Detroit Lakes like the Mill Pond Porter with Pretzel and the coffee-lover's favorite - Tiramisu Stout with Coffee Bean.
I always look forward to trying new things and keeping my product line fresh and exciting. Many, many thanks to all have supported me since this rather accidental business began - family, friends, my kiddos, coworkers who taste-tested everything (many times!), and to all of my new customers. You've all made this ridiculously fulfilling and so very, very fun.
My name is Sue. I live in Detroit Lakes - the Sunfish Capital of Minnesota - home of the renowned Jaycees Northwest Water Carnival and Parade of the Northwest - host of Polar Fest (THE best winter festival anywhere!), and much, much more. Almost everything in the Detroit Lakes area is about water, recreation, and fun - spring, summer, fall, and winter. If you haven't been here - you should definitely visit! I have three amazing young adults - Dakota, Bobby, and Jack - and three beautiful, sassy felines - Babe, Shadow, and Chloe. We are all thankful to live in a beautiful community where other people come to vacation!
After making homemade caramels on special occasions for many years, I obtained a Minnesota cottage food license in late 2021 and began selling my soft, handcrafted caramels to friends and family at Christmastime. They were a big hit - with many customers ordering once - and then again (and even again!) - before the holidays arrived. It gave me immense joy that so many people enjoyed the delicious treats that I love creating!
As Valentine's Day 2022 approached, I renewed my cottage food license and began playing around with a new candy. Because Valentine's Day is all about chocolate, I wanted to see what I could do with my original sea salt caramel, some pecans, and some really good dark chocolate. After a lot of experimentation, the result was my original soft, delicious caramel poured over pecans that I smoked with maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt - and then dredged in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt flakes. Once again, customers came back for more!
Around the same time, a customer asked if I could make some caramels for her husband with no nuts and milk chocolate instead of dark. I thought "why not?" - and they turned out fabulous. Then came even more inspiration - from customer suggestions, to seasonal flavors, and even from my own over-active brain - chocolate cinnamon, maple, cranberry orange, butter rum, apple cinnamon, almond - and the most "science-y" of them all - caramels made with beer brewed at Bucks Mill Brewing right here in Detroit Lakes like the Mill Pond Porter with Pretzel and the coffee-lover's favorite - Tiramisu Stout with Coffee Bean.
I always look forward to trying new things and keeping my product line fresh and exciting. Many, many thanks to all have supported me since this rather accidental business began - family, friends, my kiddos, coworkers who taste-tested everything (many times!), and to all of my new customers. You've all made this ridiculously fulfilling and so very, very fun.
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