Made in Iowa: Betty Jane Homemade Candies

In the midst of ‘Chain America’ exists local businesses that are amazing at what they do. Today I’m shining a spotlight on Betty Jane Candies born and bred right here in Dubuque, Iowa! Betty Jane Candies was first established back in 1938. They have 3 store locations in Iowa, 2 in Dubuque and one in Marion, with the Asbury Road (Dubuque) store doubling up as a mini Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory where all of their yummy treats are made!

Disclosure: I received my Easter Egg free of charge for reviewing purposes, as always opinions are my own.

I visited when their whole store was decked out for Easter! Bunnies and foil wrapped chocolate eggs everywhere! By far their most impressive creation are the Easter Eggs that come in SEVEN different sizes. The smallest being 11oz ($19.99) right up to 73.6oz ($119.99). They are all handcraft and decorated and presented in a little gift box!

The front of the egg is decorated with a foil wrapped bunny and chocolate egg (which reminded me of Icelandic Easter Eggs!) and a big fancy bow holds the 2 halves of the egg together!

The inside is STUFFED full of their signature and most popular creation…the Gremlin! Gremlins are pecans, topped with caramel and covered with chocolate and are highly addictive! My 11oz egg had 9 Gremlins and 2 foil wrapped eggs inside!

As well as chocolate, they also sell: gummy candies, nuts, popcorn, liquorice, sugared almonds, taffy and rock candy.

Betty Jane Candies & The Media

Betty Jane Candies have been named the Top Culinary Gift in Iowa by People Magazine

Wanna be eating the same as the A listers? How’s this for an impressive back catalog for a local Iowan business:

They were featured in the Academy Awards Gift Bag in 2014.
The new snack line was featured in the 2017 Grammy Awards Gift Bag this past February.
The snack line is also to be featured backstage in the dressing rooms of the talent on the upcoming season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars!

More Information

Betty Jane Candies can be bought from any 3 of the Iowa locations or online at www.bettyjanecandies.com. They ship to all over America and even worldwide! (When I was living in the UK, my In-Laws shipped over a box as a Christmas present!)

You can also follow them on these social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram

A huge part of Easter in the UK is having a hollow egg that has goodies inside it (although in recent years the goodies have just come in the box rather than inside the egg). They appear in the shops straight after christmas and every chocolate bar will literally have an egg that goes with it. I’m so happy to have found somewhere in America that will allow me to be able to carry on this Easter tradition of mine. Even better that it’s from a local small business that’s right here in Dubuque! Have you ever tried Betty Jane Candies? If you get the chance, you definitely won’t regret it!

Thank you to Betty Jane Candies for gifting me a complimentary egg in return for my review. As always opinions are my own. (And if you don’t believe me, my husband was literally hovering just out of shot, telling me to hurry up photographing the egg so he could have some…!)