Brenham – Whenever you mention sweets in Brenham, usually a frozen treat comes to mind. Ice cream has been king in this town since 1907 but just a few miles from the factory known for homemade vanilla, you’ll find another sweet stop called Thomas Craft Confections.
Jennifer Thomas and her husband Adam create the creamy cupcakes, marvelous macaroons, and decadent chocolates that you’ll find here. They haven’t faced any problems from Blue Bell, who just made sure they weren’t trying to compete in the ice cream game.
Their small shop was originally started by Cynthia and Sammy Timpa. Back then it was called the Bliss Candy Company, and they specialized in toffee. The toffee recipe was in their family for generations, and after enough people asked them to start selling it they realized that they were burning money by not producing it for the masses.
Sammy and Cynthia’s small business did well but in 2021, they retired and turned the business over to Jennifer and Adam. The couple came to Texas to be close to family and happened to have culinary experience from around the world, including stops at high end hotels in Dublin and Singapore.
The couple continues the tradition of toffee but has also expanded into other sweet ventures thanks to their years of experience. Now that they own the place, they can serve up whatever they want and that includes a savory selection on Saturdays like their flakey croissants filled with eggs, bacon and cheese that are marvelous on their own. People love it so much that they urge the couple to start serving coffee and opening up for breakfast every day of the week.
We stopped by for the sweet stuff, though, and that includes a unique pastry with French roots. Jennifer’s favorite thing that she makes is called a cannelé, and it’s made with all the same ingredients as pancake batter. They bake in copper molds for an hour until they get crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, making a simple and delicious treat.
Next up was the toffee, which starts with a big pitcher of distilled water. Next up is a massive mound of sugar, at least three kilos. If you didn’t know, toffee isn’t incredibly complicated because the only other ingredient is butter. Once the water and sugar get up to 236 degrees, it becomes caramel, and you add in the butter. Then all you got to do is stir, and stir, and stir, until everything is emulsified, and you’re left with a big pot of toffee. It gets spread onto big trays to cool and a drizzle of chocolate finishes off this long-loved treat.
They’ll also have fun with the toffee here, sometimes adding almonds, espresso, or other flavorful add-ins, but no matter what you choose, you can’t leave this place without trying some toffee. Once you know what goes into it, it makes sense as you get the sweet taste of sugar with the luxurious texture of butter. So if you don’t get quite enough of a sugar fix on your next trip to Brenham, or if you want to grab something you can take home, make sure to stop by Thomas Craft Confections on The Texas Bucket List.