The love of cooking and baking is in my blood. My great grandmother, Guadalupe, made and sold homemade tortillas to the neighborhood in West St. Paul, Minnesota. Another great grandmother, Edith, was a state fair blue ribbon winner for her baked goods in Minnesota. It didn’t matter what side of the family we were going to get together with, there was going to be good food and plenty of it!

I began making caramels to bring to family gatherings about 10 years ago. It was a purely selfish decision because there was always a plethora of chocolate deserts and I don’t like chocolate. It turns out, I’m a really good confectioner! Friends started asking for them to give as gifts, I was asked to make them for fundraisers, and they always made an appearance at Christmas festivities.

When I decided to start selling at craft shows, holiday markets and farmers markets, I knew these special caramels deserved a special name. Why not honor my Mexican and Swedish heritage? Thus, Kola – Swedish for “caramel” Reina – Spanish for “queen”, Kola Reina, the “Caramel Queen”, was coronated. 🙂