Move over, Willy Wonka. Hadley's Candy Shoppe has arrived

At 115 N. Jackson St. in Perryville, Missouri, pretty much right across the street from Mary Jane's Burgers & Brew, is a white, clean, pert little building with a "CANDY" sign sticking off of the side. This is Hadley's Candy Shoppe, and I knew that it was a serious candy store because of the extra "pe" on the end of Shoppe. These folks aren't messing around with their candy.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the store was the stark, crisp, white cleanliness of the store. Clear, gleaming glass canisters full of multicolored candy, white shelves full of sweet delicacies and a tower of, essentially, build-your-own sugar sticks dominated the space. There was so much to see! I started on my left and tried to look at all of it.

I started off by grabbing a bar of Milka, an Alpine chocolate bar from Europe. I haven't tasted this one yet, because I went a little overboard on my purchases, and I would've gone into a sugar coma if I'd tasted everything in time for this article. However, I'm expecting this bar to be slightly less sweet than our American chocolate, and I'm looking forward to enjoying the differences.

Next, I picked up one of the specialty sodas, a root beer made by Wild Bill's right here in the U.S. The can looked cool, and it's root beer, which is arguably the best soda ever invented. I couldn't help but pick up some Hammond's peppermint stirrers. I was having fond visions in my head of gently stirring this into my tea or hot cocoa while I watched the snow fall outside and listened to the fire crackle on YouTube, which is the best I can do because my home doesn't have a fireplace. If this idyllic scene ends up taking place this year is anybody's guess, but one can hope.

I moved on to browsing the bulk candies in glass canisters, and there were a bunch. I smiled when I saw the tongs that were provided for plucking candies out of the jars. The tongs were all different shapes and colors, and the hand- and heart-shaped ones were whimsical and adorable. I selected some candy Legos, and when I got them home, the first thing I did was to see if they clicked together to stack. Yes, yes, they do. They were hard and chalky, kind of like a Pez tablet or a Smarties candy, but I liked the flavor of the Legos better than either of those. This would be an excellent stocking stuffer for that youngster in your life who is a Lego fanatic.

Hadley's made-in-store candy: freeze-dried peach rings and candy gemstones.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

I passed on so many candies that I wanted. Chewy shoestrings, Dad's caramels, candy sticks in boxes reminiscent of cigarettes, Big League Chew — it was all here. I snagged some chocolate-covered marshmallows from the bulk chocolate, and then there were the chocolate-covered gummy bears. They smelled delicious, all chocolate and fruit, and they were the oddest-tasting thing I tried. The chocolate coating crunched a little, then meshed with the fruity gummy bear while I chewed. I wasn't sure if I liked the first one I ate, but the second one was delicious. So, they grew on me.

I also made a point to pick up some of the in-store-created candy. The freeze-dried peach rings were strange enough to catch my attention. Apparently, when you freeze dry a gummy candy, it swells up and becomes crunchy, kind of like a puffed cheese ball. It was very crunchy and still full of that peach ring flavor, but the crunch was gentle and not hard and pokey. It was a different, unique way to enjoy the simple and unassuming peach ring.

The main reason for my visit was to try the Candy Gemstones. Made in the store, this is Hadley's riff on the traditional Japanese candy kohakutou, or amber candy. The outside is a thin hard candy, very delicate. My tongue pushed through the outside shell into the interior, filled with a liquid jelly. This candy was wonderful, and I've never had anything quite like it. Hadley's cast it into gemstone shapes and dusted it with gold dust for that marbled look. If you try it, do take care with it. It is fragile, and I broke one in the bag before I managed to get it home.

Hadley's Candy Shoppe is a throwback to a true candy store, full of old favorites and new alike.