Still Easter shopping? Visit these Louisville area candy shops for a perfect Easter basket
Are you behind on your planning for the Easter holiday this weekend? It's easy for the holiday to sneak up on you, so why not make your last-minute Easter shopping as stress-free as possible?
We explored the Louisville area with $30 to put together a homegrown Easter basket featuring confectioneries that someone can only craft right here in Kentucky. Here's what we found:
The Sweet Spot Candy Shoppe and Dundee Candy
Address: 1583 Bardstown Road, Louisville
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; 12-6 p.m. Sunday
The Sweet Spot Candy Shoppe and Dundee Candy, a staple of the Highlands, has featured an array of sweets from gourmet chocolates to locally-produced items for more than 60 years.
Owned by David Carney and his partner, locally-produced items at the shop include bourbon balls and modjeskas. In-store, the modjeskas made by Bauer's Candy, with a creamy marshmallow center and hand-dipped into a rich, homemade caramel, are sold individually or in bulk. They are $1.49 each or $9.99 for a box of six, though bigger sizes are also available.
The bourbon balls, made by Frankfort's Rebecca Ruth Chocolates and feature popular brands like Maker's Mark and Buffalo Trace, are available online or in-store beginning at $4.99 for a two-piece box. For those who want the best of both worlds, an adult candy care kit, featuring a box of chocolates, a box of bourbon balls, a box of modjeskas and gourmet cotton candy, can be purchased in a small, medium, or large with prices starting at $29.99.
If you’re craving a bit of nostalgia, this is also the place to be, with "hard-to-find" and "retro" candy options. Some options include candy cigarettes, Goo Goo Clusters, candy buttons, Razzles and more.
Schimpff's Confectionery
Address: 347 Spring St., Jeffersonville, Indiana
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Schimpff's Confectionery, owned by Warren and Jill Schimpff, is a long-standing piece of Southern Indiana and Louisville's history. The business, originally established in 1858 by Gustav A. Schimpff, was located on Preston Street in Louisville, before moving to its current location in Jeffersonville in 1891.
Warren and Jill have owned the business since 1990, and expanded twice, once in 2001 and again in 2017. Before taking over the business, Warren was a Ph.D. graduate in chemistry from the University of Michigan, following after his parents, both of whom were Ph.D. chemists from The University of Chicago. Today, Warren is still making candy and is famous for his red hot hoppers, the house specialty.
Popular menu items include the red hot hoppers — commonly known as cinnamon red hots — fish candy, chocolate and caramel turtles and more.
“When it comes to candy, there’s no age,” said Mart Cain, Schimpff's manager of nearly 15 years. “You can’t go wrong.”
For the Easter season, popular items include milk chocolate hollow bunnies of various sizes, chocolate-covered Peeps, chocolate-dipped Oreos, peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge eggs.
At the store, a 1/4-pound bag of red hot hoppers is $3.25, and a half-pound bag is $6.50. Chocolate-covered Peeps are also available for $1.35, chocolate fudge eggs cost $3.05 and a chocolate-covered Oreo costs $3.
Adult options include bourbon balls, starting at $8.75 for a pack of six.
Not to mention, if you buy a can of something, you just might find a little surprise! Warren said the company has been putting small information cards and calendars in the cans for a long time, always with a new design for each year.
Chocolate and Nut Kingdom
Address: 3731 Bardstown Road, Louisville
Hours: 11 a.m.-9:45 p.m. Monday; 12-9:45 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11:45 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Chocolate and Nut Kingdom on Bardstown Road is more than meets the eye. With a candy shop on one side and a fun cafe on the other, the two sides meet in the middle with a line of perfumes and colognes from Morocco and other countries.
The Turkish delight, which customers can mix and match, sells for $14.99 per pound and comes in more than 70 varieties. Traditionally-inspired flavors, including pistachio sesame, rose, cream pistachio, pistachio sesame and pomegranate with almonds, are available, but cream cherry, banana with Nutella and lotus, and mango with Nutella and lotus are also on hand to try.
Many of the items are imported from more than 50 countries globally like Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Dubai, but formerly came from Palestine. Orders were delayed recently, but a fresh shipment has arrived in time for the Ramadan holiday, owner Shadi Mohammad said.
The business, established around three years ago, also has a section of European candies.
Melt Munch, which shares a space with the confectionery, can also sate a sweet tooth with their crepes, waffles and gelato, but also has savory items like kumpir, a Turkish-style baked potato, all of which can be ordered with various toppings.
Mohammad said he moved to the U.S. from Palestine when he was around 15, and has been in the Louisville area for around 25 years. He said while the products are halal, meaning they go through a halal-certified preparation process from farm to finish to adhere to Muslim practices, the store is for everyone who loves chocolates, nuts or anything sweet.
“It’s international. It doesn’t have a culture," he said. "You don’t have to be Palestinian or Arabic or Muslim to come over here."
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Easter 2024: Gift perfect Easter basket with candy from Louisville stores
