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Just across the street from the Fox River Mall, Vande Walle’s Candies has grown up along with the area and become famous for its sweet treats. Starting from a collection of time-tested recipes and a store in Shawano, the candy store has become a classic of the Fox Cities area. Since their start in 1975, Vande Walle’s has won 35 awards for their chocolates, bakery, and ice cream, including Best in Show at the Retail Confectioners’ International Convention in 2015.

Vande Walle’s owes much of their success to recipes from the owner’s grandmother, traditional ingredients and methods of cooking, and the best exclusively wholesale chocolate manufacturer they could find. But even though they have traditional roots, they’re also constantly innovating and keeping an eye on trends. Their most recent offerings are made with sea salt, which adds a complicated and balancing flavor to candies. Some of their best-sellers are sea salt caramels, sea salt turtles, and chocolate-covered potato chips. One of their unique and most-acclaimed offerings, the Chocolate of Champions, is a crunchy concoction made with sea salt, Wheaties cereal, chocolate and thin ribbons of caramel. The store also offers a wide variety of delicious seasonal treats: caramel apples, peanut brittle, popcorn balls, and cookies for every occasion. They even make traditional Christmas angel food candy eight months out of the year.

Vande Walle’s efforts to blend food trends with old-world tradition has paid off. The store is still going strong after over 30 years, offering more than 95 different kinds of chocolates, cakes and ice cream. If you’re visiting Appleton and craving a sweet treat, a stop by the store is almost mandatory. Those from a little further away can also buy at their online store.

Food & Dining