los angeles magazine

December 2002

Toffee Take
By Linda Burum

Amy Landers is on the edge of panic. Orders for her handmade toffee keep pouring in. Sandra Bullock, who loves the confection's refined but homey quality, sends it to everyone on her film company's gift list. The West Wing's Allison Janney orders assortments by the dozen, and the white chocolate version has become a wedding-shower favorite around town. Landers, a part-time actress and the owner of the tiny, new Lula Belle Toffee Company, supervises each batch.

Inspired by a generations-old Southern family recipe, Landers's candy is elegant, thin, and so delicate that when you crunch through the crystalline caramelized-sugar layer, its buttery flavor mingles with the rich chocolate-pecan coating. It's a flashy gustatory sensation on a par with popping caviar eggs or swallowing champagne bubbles.

For Landers, a Georgia native, this is the day job; she recently opened in the Actor's Co-op production of Bullshot Crummond. Her candy company, named for Landers's childhood nickname, evolved from her custom of giving homemade toffee to friends and agents as holiday gifts. While working at the Studio City gift shop Ferret, she convinced the owner to offer the original dark chocolate version for sale. Landers now makes dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties and calls her creation "Southern" toffee because, unlike the traditional candy, made with almonds, she uses meaty pecans from Georgia and Virginia.

The toffee flew off the shelves, convincing Landers she could turn her hobby into a rent-paying venture that would fit her busy schedule. Nevertheless, she's as passionate about candy-making as she is about acting.

Using premium ingredients is the first step in Landers's process, and timing is critical. "You have to watch the color and pour the candy from the pan at exactly the right moment," she says. "Too dark, and it gets a slightly bitter edge. Too light, and it's bland." She lavishes similar attention on Lula Belle's packaging. The toffee is nested in silver boxes tied with gray-green organza, reflecting the Southern gentility of its maker.