‘Fulfills my soul’: Local baker offers everything from almond roca toffee to rose macaroons

Written by Jessi Bang
May 28, 2023

HURRICANE —From toasted coconut macaroons to almond roca, Tammy Elmore’s love language is accented with all kinds of sweets — and then some.

Tammy Elmore, the owner of Tammy's Treats, hands over a toasted coconut macaroon, Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Tammy Elmore, the owner of Tammy’s Treats, hands over a toasted coconut macaroon, Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Elmore, owner of Tammy’s Treats, said her business all started with her famous toffee 30 years ago. As a manicurist for 35 years, she gifted her homemade toffee to her clients for Christmas, and it quickly became a hit. Clients began asking to place orders, and as word spread, it quickly turned into a large-scale side business. 

“I still make hundreds of pounds of toffee at Christmas time and drive it to California for those that place orders,” Elmore said. “I love doing all of this because I get to be one-on-one with people and see the joy they have in tasting the stuff I make. I guess you could say it’s my love language.”

Elmore’s famous toffee is almond roca, and per request, she’s since added cashew and pecan toffee to the menu.

With a love for baking, Tammy’s Treats has expanded to include a full menu of options. Her cakes in a jar allow consumers to eat as they please and place the rest back in the fridge. She said the jars keep the cake as fresh as the day she made them. Cake flavors include lemon curd and raspberry cake with Swiss meringue buttercream frosting, carrot cake and chocolate cake. With the leftover cake scraps, she makes cake pops for the kids.

Made-from-scratch macaroons by Tammy's Treats are on display in Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Made-from-scratch macaroons by Tammy’s Treats are on display in Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

She personally eats everything she bakes and doesn’t make anything she doesn’t like — with the exception of carrot cake — which is the cake she sells out the most. Her overall No. 1 seller is her banana pudding.

Apple crisp is sold in the same containers as the banana pudding and includes layers of apple crisp that are ready to eat on the go. Her made-from-scratch macaroons come in her own flavors: lemon curd and raspberry, toasted coconut and rose and raspberry – a unique blend of organic roses and flavoring. Unique desserts include cream puffs with added raspberry.

But she doesn’t stop with sweets. Elmore also makes homemade mac and cheese, which consists of five different kinds of cheese and comes in a microwaveable container.

But how did she go from being a professional manicurist to running a full-time baking business?

Banana pudding by Tammy's Treats is seen on display in Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Banana pudding by Tammy’s Treats is seen on display in Hurricane, Utah, May 8, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Growing up, Elmore said both grandmas on each side of her family were amazing cooks. She spent time playing with them and they taught her everything they knew.

She went on to have a successful manicurist career in California, which she said included high-end clients such as Erin Brockovich and Britney Spears. And she loved every minute of her 35-year career.

But that career was cut short after an accident with a crossbow limited her ability to work with her hands.

“I cut my thumb off with a crossbow,” she said. “ It was hanging by a string. It was horrifying. When I cut my thumb off, I couldn’t do nails anymore.”

Elmore said the accident happened when a man put the crossbow in her hand without instructing her on how to use it. Her thumb should’ve been below the foregrip – a mistake that causes the most common injury with crossbows.

After her career came to an end, she and her husband moved to St. George, where she found herself feeling lonely and depressed. 

A cake by Tammy Elmore features chocolate covered strawberries, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tammy Elmore, St. George News
A cake by Tammy Elmore features chocolate-covered strawberries, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tammy Elmore, St. George News

“I missed my friends and my customers that I’d been doing for 35 years,” she said. “I mean when you hold hands with people that long – it was hard. My clients weren’t just my clients, they were like my family.” 

When a neighboring couple who run their own small businesses suggested she put a booth at the farmers market, she initially felt hesitant. She decided to jump in with both feet anyway, and she’s glad she did. In less than a year, she has earned many loyal, repeat customers in Washington County that have helped her feel at home.

“They call or text me to say things like, ‘These are the best chocolate eclairs I’ve ever had,” Elmore said about her customers. “Just the cutest people. That feeling of holding hands with people for 35 years and then seeing what I did and loving what I did for them — it’s taken over that. It fulfills an empty part of my soul for sure.”

To place an order with Tammy’s Treats including custom requests, message them on Instagram or Facebook.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, “The Rambling Raccoon.” In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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