the love that dare not be spoken...

I have an inappropriate love for Lammes Candies Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines. There. I said it, and I'm not ashamed. The problem started when I was a little kid. My grandparents (aka. Omy & G.P) grew up in Texas and every Christmas Omy's sister would send a few boxes of Lammes pralines for everyone to share. Omy & G.P.'s house had a large laundry room/mud room which we all called "the back porch". The back porch had a large table that was usually used for folding laundry, but at Christmas time it was stacked high with goodies. Fruitcake that really was delicious, pumpkin pies, pecan pies, Omy's divine Mexican Wedding Cakes, and buttery spritz cookies carefully sprinkled with colored sugar were always on the table, but the biggest treat of all was carefully tucked away in the green Lammes box. Kids weren't allowed on the back porch without supervision. We simply couldn't be trusted to leave the Lammes for the grown ups. Of course, the grown ups couldn't be trusted either. Once I was old enough to be deemed responsible, I remember countless occasions when I would sneak off the the back porch to secretly steal a treat. I was almost never alone once I got there. My uncles would claim to be checking on laundry, but the crumbs on their sweaters told another tale. My Dad would say something about low blood sugar and how he "needed" a little sugar. Aunts, cousins, siblings, and, on occasion, Omy would be found on the back porch stealthily snacking. G.P. summed it up best when I caught him hiding a stash of pralines for later. He said, "I don't see you. You don't see me.", and then we went our separate ways. Nobody ever talked about running into others on the porch. We were all there in secret, silently munching on our favorite treats, and even though we all knew that it was a family wide obsession, sneaking off to the back porch was what made it fun.

Lammes are made in Austin, and the ones distributed in the state always seem to be extra fresh. To my Texas friends I say, buy some. Buy some now. And if you happen to have a back porch on which to eat them, well then that's even better.

Finally, thank you to my sweet husband who gave me a belated Valentine's Day gift of Lammes Candies Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines. Thank you to Mr. Jones who carted them back from the DFW airport. You guys are awesome. PS- I don't plan to share.