If you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth in West Texas, look no further than Jeanne’s Fancy Pecans.
“It’s great! I mean, it’s candy, it’s just fun! It’s like Willy Wonka,” says Gene Defee, who co-owns Jeanne’s Fancy Pecans with her sister.
The candy shop is best known for their pralines.
“Our most popular item is the praline. Then we have the mini pecan pies, peanut rounders, which are like peanut patties, and then we have pecan rounders, which is a crunchy kind of sugary praline,” Defee says.
Just in one day’s worth of work, they use 120 pounds of pecans, which is equivalent to 3 pots of mixture, and by the end of the day that makes 1,800 pralines.
All this work is for a small group of 5 women, three days a week.
“We enjoy each other’s company. It’s very relaxing. By the end of the day, I get tired, but I enjoy it,” says Susana Valenzuela, who has been working at Jeanne’s Fancy Pecans for 15 years.
“It’s more like family and friends, rather than it is employer and employees,” says Defee.
The recipe comes from the original owner, Richard Davis, who started the company back in 1998, and named it after his wife.
“It’s the recipe that makes it so good. Caramel and pecans…if you like caramel and you like pecans mixed together, then you can’t beat it,” says Defee.
Since the company originally opened, it has grown tremendously.
“We’re mainly a wholesale and we ship all over. In the West Texas area nearly all the Walgreens have them, and there’s also restaurants that have them,” Defee says.
They even offer seasonal items such as chocolate toffee and peanut brittle during the holidays.
“We get people coming in from out of town that have eaten at, say Pedroza’s, and they say these candies are the best they’ve ever had. They want to take some home with them, so it’s good for us and we like to hear that,” Defee says.
“We like what we do, and we do the best that we can at it. Anybody that has one says it’s a real good candy, so we’re proud,” says Valenzuela.