the girl behind the pink door: deliciously diving deep into the cakes and candies by maryellen

Only steps away from the hustle and bustle of West Chester Pike, a pretty-in-pink sign hangs on one of the petite highway shopping strips reading, vibrantly, “Cakes and Candies by Maryellen.” As an edible labor of love for a former occupational therapist who cherished the flavors and aromas of her afternoons spent in her grandmother's kitchen, Maryellen Bowers began embracing her hereditary skills as an artisan baker and confection creator almost 16 years ago, but it was only in 2009 that she considered taking baking orders full time.

“My Nanny would watch my brother and I, and she would seat me in a booster and I would sift sugar on all the Chruscikis [Polish fried cookies] she had made,” said Bowers. “She would bake everything and I would always help. Every time I came home, I looked like a ghost.”

Influenced by the heartfelt moments of her past, Bowers always embraced baking and candy making as a hobby, clinging to the kitchen trades as an escape from her full-time therapist career. But, with the constant growth of her word-of-mouth baking business over the last several years, she knew that her self-taught craft (some of which sourced from her grandmother) would lead her to soon peddle her bountiful baked goods and confectioneries in her own dessert boutique.

peanut butter eggs, a success of the strausses

There are not enough words to describe the love that the Strausses have for their glue that stuck them ever-so-willingly together, Naomi Strauss. 

 My grandmother & I, circa October 2006.

If you've read any of my posts where I trance back to my days with my beloved grandmother, it's obvious that you know that I possess an undying love for her. This month, it has only been three years that she has passed,  and as the days dwindle by, I always think of her more and more.

My Mammy had a keen eye for crafting the tastiest treats anyone's sweet teeth could ever experience, and I must modestly admit, this is not a biased statement. My family members and I hold these dear recipes as a triumphant trophy and as holidays approach, with appropriate traditional Strauss treats in tune for each, we are sure to gather together to reenact what our dear grandma did best in her comforting kitchen space.

Most recently, my cousins and I, as we like to think we're blessed with the gift that our grandmother possessed so gracefully, gathered to sculpt her chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs — a tradition we've began since her passing.

This year was the first festive occasion for the Strauss family's newest member, Cheyanne Naomi Willman, and as you see below, she too now loves these candies as much as we ever could (and, that is a hell of a lot!).

Here's a photographic step-by-step of our family-sacred, sugary Easter concoctions:

sugary sensations of sweet ashley's chocolate

In the 1940s, Miller's Candy and Ice Cream sashayed into the hearts of Royersford's sweet teeth by offering an assortment of sweet treats that would offer anyone an ultimate sugar rush.

50 years later, at the exact same store front, Connie and Rob Lawson maintain their shop for all things sweet on Main Street, singing praise to the area's very best, taste-test approved, chocolate assortments.

Beginning the official journey of a chocolatier in the fall of 2005, Connie Lawson always dreamt of opening her own chocolate factory. An unofficial milk and dark chocolate maker since the young age of nine, Lawson began her sales of sweets when living in State College with her husband while managing a coffee shop.

Wooing college students with her homemade sweets, she adored the construction of chocolates because it was something she always excelled at, it was her gift that has never been a frustrating challenge, but has always been an example of a hobby (now career) that was pure enjoyment to her.
Her husband Rob, the son of William Lawson who is a wonderful help to the business, being a business partner and shop assistant, was raised in the Spring City area, where the couple now lives with their 11 year old daughter Ashley -- the business' namesake.

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