Where to Find Homemade Fudge on the Connecticut Shoreline
Drive Route 156 along the Connecticut shoreline and you will pass plenty of places selling fudge. Finding fudge that was actually made in the building you are standing in is a different matter.
At Gumdrops & Lollipops, the fudge is made in-store on Main Street in Niantic, a few steps from the Niantic Bay Boardwalk. It has been made that way since 2008.
Here is what separates shoreline fudge worth stopping for, the flavors on our counter, and how to build a box that makes it home in one piece.
What "homemade" should mean in a fudge shop
The word gets used loosely. Three things are worth checking before you buy:
Where it was made. Fudge made on site is cut from slabs and sold by weight. Fudge that arrives pre-wrapped in identical bars was made somewhere else.
Whether the flavor list moves. A board that says "subject to availability" is a board fed by small batches, not by a standing wholesale order.
Whether you can mix a box. Shops that make their own will cut you a quarter pound of four different flavors without blinking.
Our fudge board covers 27 flavors, split between those made with nuts and those made without. Availability rotates, which is the honest consequence of making it in small batches.
Fudge flavors made with nuts
Ten flavors on the board are built around nuts:
Peanut Butter, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Oreo
Snickers and Almond Joy, for the candy-bar end of the shelf
Rocky Road and Chocolate Walnut
Pistachio and Maple Walnut
Penuchi Nut, the brown-sugar fudge New England has been making for generations, with nuts folded through it
Fudge flavors made without nuts
Seventeen flavors are made without nuts as an ingredient:
The classics: Vanilla, Maple, Penuchi, Chocolate Marshmallow, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Caramel
The cookie shelf: Cookies & Cream, Heathbar, M&M, Jelly Donut and Dirt Cup
The fruit and swirl side: Mint Swirl, Orange Swirl, Watermelon, Raspberry Chocolate, Vanilla Raspberry and Cherry Chocolate
A note on allergies: these flavors are made without nuts as an ingredient, but they are made in the same shop as the flavors above. If you are managing a nut allergy, please talk to us at the counter before you buy.
Sizes, boxes and gifts
Fudge is sold in quarter-pound, half-pound, one-pound and two-pound boxes, subject to what is on the board that day. You can mix flavors in any of them.
A half-pound box with four flavors is the one most people take to a dinner or a holiday table. A two-pound box is what people buy when they are driving back to New York or Boston and want the shoreline to last another week.
Where to find us on the shoreline
We are at 334 Main Street in Niantic, in the middle of the shops, a short walk from the Niantic Bay Boardwalk and minutes from Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme.
Store hours are 11:00am to 9:00pm Monday through Saturday, and 11:00am to 8:00pm on Sunday. Hours can shift with the season, so it is worth a call at 860-739-7800 before a long drive.
While you are in, the same counter has hand-dipped chocolates, homemade ice cream and a wall of nostalgic candy.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find homemade fudge on the Connecticut shoreline?
Gumdrops & Lollipops at 334 Main Street in Niantic, CT makes its fudge in-store. The shop sits between the Niantic Bay Boardwalk and Rocky Neck State Park, on the southeastern Connecticut shoreline.
Is the fudge really made in the shop?
Yes. It is made in-store in small batches, which is why the flavor board is marked subject to availability and changes through the week.
How many fudge flavors do you have?
The board lists 27 flavors, 10 made with nuts and 17 made without. Not every flavor is available every day.
Do you have fudge without nuts?
Yes, 17 of the flavors are made without nuts as an ingredient, including Vanilla, Maple, Salted Caramel, Cookies & Cream and Chocolate Marshmallow. They are made in the same shop as the nut flavors, so please ask at the counter if you are managing an allergy.
What sizes does the fudge come in?
Quarter-pound, half-pound, one-pound and two-pound boxes.
Can I mix flavors in one box?
Yes. Any box size can be mixed.
Come find the board
The fastest way to know what is on the fudge board today is to walk in and look at it. We are on Main Street in Niantic, open seven days a week, a few steps from the water.
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