Slowing down to enjoy and dream with summer treats
- Julie Schultz
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Memorial Day weekend has come & gone, which means summer season has begun. The pace of summer season at Costas is unlike the rest of the year. It's our slower season: no big candy holidays, the weather gets too warm for shipping chocolate, school's out, more time with our kids, time to enjoy the outdoors, time to dream and experiment with new ideas. So, while it's our slower season we're still keeping busy, just at a different, pace.
Summer Treats
The summer brings some long-awaited treats back to the shop, the most anticipated one being our Smores. Nothing says summer like a delicious, messy smore cooked over the campfire. Inspired by our love of camping and our customers love of our house made marshmallow we decided to try a Costas smores treat in 2022. It was a hit & continues to be a summer favorite. Costas smores are only available from Memorial Day-Labor Day weekend.
Our smores begin with the marshmallow, it is made and then left to cool and set overnight. The 2nd day the marshmallow is cut into strips & then pieces. Each piece is set on a graham cracker and then torched to get the toasted flavor.
After the marshmallow has been toasted, another piece of graham cracker is placed on top to make the sandwich (sorry to our gluten-free friends, at this time the smores are not made gluten-free). After the sandwich is made, they are carefully dipped in milk chocolate and left to harden overnight. The 3rd day they are now ready to enjoy!
Stop by to get some today. At this time our Smores are not sold in our online store. If you aren't local, we are happy to ship them to you while they are in stock and when the temperatures allow. Call the store to find out if we can ship to you - 507-451-9050
Another fun summer treat at Costas is our Ice Cream Pops. Chocolate on a stick was a great invention for a little less mess for young kids, but in our opinion everyone's a kid at heart, so these are for anyone to enjoy. Ice cream pop molds are filled with milk or dark chocolate. Once they are completely cooled & hardened, they are popped out of the mold and dipped in white chocolate to make the "ice cream" and then sprinkled, because ice cream is always more fun with sprinkles!
One of the newest additions to Costas is our seasoned & candied nuts. We've thrown around the idea of some seasoned or candied nuts at Costas for a few years, and last year the idea finally came to fruition. We wanted a treat for our non-chocolate lovers (Gasp . . . we know it's hard to believe, but there are those who don't like, or can't have chocolate). We also wanted a treat without chocolate so we could participate outside at downtown Thursdays in the summer without a melted mess. So, seasoned and candied nuts were introduced at Costas 1 year ago at Owatonna's June downtown Thursday. They were a hit, and we made them throughout the summer and then for Christmas. It's now time to bring them back! You will find them in the case at Costas throughout the summer. Every variety isn't in stock all summer long, but you can always let us know you're interested & we can give you a call when they get made again.
We experimented a lot with different flavors and seasonings and settled on 5 different ones to make last year. We're always open to new flavors, so if you have any suggestions, or something you've tried somewhere that you recommend let us know! These nuts are currently packaged in 2, 4, & 8 oz size, as well as a 6 oz trio pack. If you're looking for just a little snack while you enjoy downtown Thursdays, or you have found your new favorite snack and need a larger size, we have you covered.
Our lineup:
--Candied Pecans and Candied Walnuts - delicious as a snack, or served on a salad
--House Seasoned Almonds - great salty snacking nuts, also pairs great with a Beer
--Sweet than Heat Mixed Nuts - walnuts, almonds, and cashews mixed with a seasoned glaze
that gives you some sweetness followed by a little heat
--Skinny Almonds - lightly coated with chocolate & cocoa powder, some people refer to these as
"diet" nuts - thus our choice for a name. A different taste than what you might be used to,
but so worth trying, once you start it's hard to stop! And if you like some spice, we also make them Hot & Skinny
--Rum Cashews - as delicious as they sound. Cashews coated with a caramelized Rum, Butter and sugar mixture. These take a little more time and precision to make, so these are a more limited candied nut at Costas.
And if you really can't decide, try our 6 oz Nut Trio: 2 oz of each of the following:
Rum Cashews, Sweet than Heat Mixed Nuts, and Candied Pecans.
The last candy making its way back to the store in time to celebrate summer is our newest candy: Northern Delights. These treats were created somewhat by accident for the first time in October 2024, we quickly fell in love & put them in the case. They were named by the help of our customers when we couldn't think of a name. The Northern Lights were on full display in MN the week the candy was created and a customer suggested Northern Delights. Northern Delights had to take a little break since Jan, but we are excited to have them back in the candy case as of this past weekend.
Our Nothern Delights are created by mixing our world-famous caramel with peanuts to form the bottom layer. Then we mix some more caramel into our house-made marshmallow & pour that over the bottom layer. Finally, a thin layer of caramel is placed on top. This layered creation then sets overnight.
In the morning it is cut into pieces and then dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled with dark chocolate. The result, a decadent, creamy, sweet and salty treat that you just have to try. Sometimes accidents and experimenting make the sweetest treats!
After writing all this I'm starting to think I might need to change the title of this month's post. This really didn't sound like we're slowing down at all as we make all these fun, summer treats. But like I said at the beginning, we're still keeping busy! We're so thankful for all of you for allowing us to continue to experiment and try new things. We hope that you find some time this summer to slow down, enjoy whatever makes you happy, and don't be afraid to dream and experiment. You just might find a new sweetness to your days in the process.
We hope to see you soon at Costas!
Until next time
Julie
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