St. Francis' Buddy Squirrel celebrates 110 years of traditions, explains how they make famous whipped creme egg

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- This easter, many of us are celebrating with our own traditions; whether that's an egg hunt, a breakfast your grandmother used to make, or perhaps the kinds of candy you eat.

In St. Francis for the past 110 years, Buddy Squirrel has followed the same recipes, keeping your favorite sweets alive. "Easter is our Super Bowl," said President Jimmy Gohsman. He said they prepare for months ahead of time, knowing it's their busiest time of year.

"I think we all feel like Willy Wonka some days," chuckled Gohsman. Like Willy Wonka, Buddy Squirrel has its own chocolate waterfall, 10-pound chocolate bars, and sugar galore. Their most popular item is the original whipped creme egg, something Gohsman said is "tradition baked into Wisconsin history, which we’re honored to continue to carry on."

"I think it’s remained so successful because we haven’t changed much. We’re still making some of those original recipes made in 1910. And it’s still handmade." - Jimmy Gohsman

The tradition that started in 1916 as "Quality Candy Shoppes" in Milwaukee, then running with "Buddy Squirrel" as the main name, while keeping the same flavors: "The recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. So, all those formulas are carried on. In addition to the formulas, there’s a bit of artwork."

Everything is handmade and inspected by about two dozen staff. "We make the centers here, we mix our sugars, we have to get the whipped centers the right consistency. It can’t be too fluffy, or it won’t set right; it can’t be too dense, or it’ll be a little too thick for the bite. Once we have those centers made, that gets handfed into the production line where the mold of the egg comes out, and then from there, we get the bottoms on there. [It] has to set at the right temperature. So, throughout the entire process, people are monitoring the temperatures to make sure they’re right both in the centers we’re cooking, chocolate that’s being added to it, the cooling tables to make sure chocolate sets right. Then, [the egg] gets enrobed through the chocolate waterfall — that’s one of our favorite parts here," said Gohsman.

Once cooled, the whipped creme eggs get boxed up. Gohsman said every year they sell about 40,000 packs of 6 or 12 eggs, and an additional 15,000 pounds are sent to customers throughout the state and country.

"We see multiple generations come in. We’ve got grandmas with their daughters and their grandkids coming in, so the tradition has been passed down generation to generation," continued Gohsman.

Customers Jan and Bill came in to get some of their favorite sweets like turtles and toffee, but "anything is good here," according to Jan. She grew up in Cudahy and said they've been coming to the store "forever." Her husband added, "well the chocolate here is just outstanding. It’s superior. It’s really good. It’s quality."

As times change, so do our tastes. That's why there's a new line of a "better for you snack," said Gohsman. He said it includes ancient grain chips and dark chocolate, resulting in a snack with "low sugar, low fat, good fiber, decent amount of protein," which will "satiate the sweet tooth but honors our traditional chocolate line."

The quality remains, Gohsman said, because they choose to keep everything handmade as it was 110 years ago, "we want to continue to grow it and carry on the tradition. It being handmade and high quality, we have limitations as to how far we can go and how big we can make it. But our goal is to maintain that flavor, maintain that quality, spread the love and joy as far as we can."