In 1946, Betty Anne Smith developed a recipe for peanut brittle that is now being made and sold in downtown Garland. Betty Anne’s son, Daniel, and his wife, Elizabeth, knew that the brittle made with Betty Anne’s recipe was extraordinary and often tried to get her to offer it for sale. Betty Anne resisted that idea, though, freely sharing her recipe with friends and family, not wanting the responsibilities and problems that come with running a business.
Six years ago, when Daniel retired from his job at an auto dealership and Elizabeth retired from JC Penny, they decided to sell the brittle at trade shows, including Canton’s First Monday and Third Monday Trade Days in McKinney. They started a company called Betty Anne’s™ Homemade Gourmet Peanut Brittle. They continued to sell only at shows until they moved into a storefront at 612 West State Street in downtown Garland.
The process of making brittle is more complicated than one might guess. The humidity has to be less than 40 percent which requires that two dehumidifiers are running while the candy is being made. The Smiths also protect the integrity of the product by making only two pounds at a time.
“That’s the way my mom used to make it,” Daniel said. “I’m afraid if we made it in bigger quantities it might lose some of its flavor and we don’t want to take any chances.”
The Smiths have perfected the process. They prepare 16 pans with the ingredients pre-measured. They then cook two pans at a time with Daniel and Elizabeth each stirring one pan constantly until the mixture reaches the correct temperature. The brittle is then poured onto pre-prepared pans for cooling. In an eight hour day, they can make 16 batches.
Feedback from customers is always positive and most customers come back for more.
“Betty Anne’s™ Homemade Gourmet Peanut Brittle is the best in the world,” Daniel said. “I have not found a better brittle.”
Brittle flavors include peanut, jalapeno peanut, pecan, jalapeno pecan, cashew, almond and plain. The Smiths are happy to do special orders, fundraisers and company gift packages. They hope to get the brittle into stores soon.
They live in Plano and found the downtown Garland space by coincidence when they met the property owner at a trade show. They like being in downtown Garland and enjoy the atmosphere.
“It’s a nice little community,” Elizabeth said. “Everybody is so friendly here.”
Call for hours – 214-864-4167. For more information, visit www.homemadepeanutbrittle.com.