Cracker Barrel Sells Rare Candy From A Brand That's Over A Century Old

The Cracker Barrel brand is built on nostalgia. From the old-timey decor to the classic Southern food menu including delicious biscuits and 75 million pancakes cooked each year, the restaurant/country store offers some serious comfort vibes from the moment you step on the rocking-chair-lined porch. Even its newest viral moment harkens to the past, bringing 21st century attention to a candy company that is 140 years old. Lammes Candies' sherbet mints are flying off of Cracker Barrel shelves ever since a sweet Instagram reel began spreading this spring.

Produced by a Texas candy company that has been in business dating back to 1885, the sherbet mints have been a part of Cracker Barrel's seasonal rotation since 2007. When Debbie, a Tennessee Cracker Barrel employee, introduced them on social media, commenters said they had memories of the sweet treats that went back generations. "Everybody had these fancy mints on their table back at Easter in the day," one commenter said. Those thin, pastel melt-in-your-mouth treats are rare these days, but thanks to Cracker Barrel, people are getting a chance to taste the vintage classic once again.

The history behind Lammes Candies is undoubtedly part of the recent sherbet mint revival. The Lamme family began selling sweets in downtown Austin, Texas in 1878. Lammes Candies opened in 1885, after David Turner Lamme Sr. repaid his father's gambling debt and reclaimed his store, and the family has been perfecting sweet treats ever since. Originally, one of the top items on the menu at the shop was ice cream, but now the current bestseller for the store is its "Texas Chewie" pecan praline, which are made from the same recipe created in 1892, according to the company's website. 

With the fifth generation now in charge, Lammes Candies are still sold in a storefront in downtown Austin, but they are also shipped to a number of other sellers, in addition to Cracker Barrel. The candies are a favorite in Texas airport and hospital gift shops, and they are also sold in some other local candy shops across the country. (Here's our list of the best candy stores found in every state.) In the caption of their social media video, though, Cracker Barrel pointed out that they are one of the few places outside of Texas where you can find the sherbet mints, a nostalgic treat with a history of melting in your mouth and sweetening your spring.