The sweet smell of success permeates the country charm of Sweets `N Treats of Barrington, where kitchen-fresh fudge and English toffee, nostalgic ”penny candies,” such as candy buttons, and sinfully scrumptious creamy chocolates melt away all self-control and bring out the candy-loving child in all of us.
For those with a tad more willpower, a sweet tooth can be satiated from baskets and barrels brimming with 35 varieties of all-natural sugar-free confections with no salt or sorbitol additives or preservatives at $6.50 per pound and 10 to 26 calories each. It`s ambrosia without the guilt.
For those dieters who absolutely crave sugar, there are the eight-calorie Taffy Lites in lemon, chocolate fudge, cherry, creamsicle and root-beer flavors.
Housed in Bell`s Apple Orchard, Sweets `N Treats is a quaint blast to the past with its lace curtains, apple-green wallpaper, rich wood display cases and fastidious white-glove kitchen and shop.
Owners Gerri Wojcik and Cheryl Elliott fuss over their confectionery concoctions, spending, for example, as much as five hours to whip up 16 pounds of their English toffee, a secret recipe delight made from fresh ingredients and cooled on marble slabs.
The enterprising candymakers also know that the quickest way to a customer`s heart is to make that customer feel at home.
Unusual requests are a specialty of the house. In one instance, a woman brought in 30 champagne glasses and asked that they be filled with three colors of gourmet jelly beans to be used for party favors.
Sweets `n Treats has multicolored and multigreeting cans that can be filled with a selection of sweets or nuts and then sealed with a canner on the premises. The can costs $3, and the candy is extra. There are also straw baskets available in a number of sizes.
On the spot, Wojcik and Elliott craft baskets packed with candies and nuts of choice, cuddly stuffed animals and intricately hand-tied paper bows. These customized baskets can be shipped anywhere in the U.S. and range from a small basket at $16 to an elaborate type at $70.
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Sweets `N Treats is at Bell`s Apple Orchard on Illinois Highway 22 in Barrington. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. Phone 708-438-2213.
