Best Find: Hungarian Nut Rolls
Posted in the November 16, 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer

What It Is:  Anyone who travels Route 100 through northern Chester County has probably seen the small roadside signs: Hungarian Nut Rolls sold here.

And if they haven't stopped to buy one, they are passing up a true taste sensation.

The Hungarian nut roll as produced by Nancy's Heavenly Treats is about a solid pound of butter, sugar, nuts and flour. "I had a woman walk out of my store and start peeling it like a banana," said Anna Magazzeni, owner of Agway store in Pughtown.  "I'll bet it was gone by the time she got home."

The secret recipe was passed on to company founder Nancy Christman by a coworker about 25 years ago.  Sales of the nut rolls started as a fund-raiser for the Pughtown Baptist Church, and the rolls were available only around Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But help became scarce, and gradually, the nut roll production at the church came to an end, although the demand never did. "People kept asking about them and calling the church," said Christman, who said the confection's fans come from all over the Philadelphia area.  So she decided to go into business.

Where to buy them:  The nut rolls are produced at an immaculate kitchen in Christman's home and sold to various stores in northern Chester County. 
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Couple cooks up 'heavenly' home-baked goods company by Michelle Karas 
Posted in the March 11, 2007 edition of The Pottstown Mercury, Pottstown, PA

NORTH COVENTRY - With a name like Nancy's Heavenly Treats, it's fitting that Nancy Christman came up with with name for her wholesale baked goods business in church.

Christman, who has been making her signature Hungarian Nut Rolls since learning the recipe from a friend of Hungarian descent in the early 1980s, used to make the decadent walnut-laden pastries just for friends and family as well as fund raisers at Pughtown Baptist Church.

It wasn't too long before she had a following, with customers asking Nancy when and where they could next purchase the pastries.

"We weren't selling them anymore, but people kept asking for them," said Nancy, who learned her baking skills from her Pennsylvania Dutch grandmother and her mother, and makes everything from scratch. The demand sparked an idea for a pastry business, initially centered on the popular nut rolls. "The Hungarian Nut Roll is a natural locally," she said.  "Almost everybody knows abut it." In August 2006, after gaining the necessary township approvals, Nancy's husband of 41 years, John, finished building a bakery onto their South Keim Street home.

Prior to this venture, the Christmans, who met as classmates at Owen J. Roberts High School and married shortly after graduation in 1965, owned and operated the Evergreen Bed & Breakfast on 29 acres in the Moosehead Lake region of Maine from 1986 to 1996.

Later, Nancy worked as an inspector of Bed & Breakfasts throughout the country.  They eventually moved back to North Coventry to be closer to their children and grandchildren.  John started a contracting business, Christman Construction, while Nancy cultivated a garden design business and made baked goods as a hobby.  But the physical garden work became increasingly difficult for Nancy, who suffers from arthritis. And so she decided to concentrate on making the nut rolls and other baked goods. John built and finished the roomy addition himself.  It includes a homey kitchen area with a large granite-topped island which provides lots of room for rolling out pastries, as well as a small office space and plenty of space for a large baking oven and cooling racks.

He also helps out with the preparation and packaging of the baked goods for shipping. For the nut rolls, they start making the dough the night before they plan to bake, separating dozens of eggs at a time.  In the morning, they "roll out the dough, put the nut mixture on it, then roll them up and put them in the oven," John said.  "The more you make the easier it becomes," Nancy said.  "You get into the routine of it." The nut rolls must cool a few hours before they can be wrapped - first in cellophane and then in foil - labeled, and shipped, Nancy said.

Shipping takes about two days, but you can rest assured the nut rolls will be delicious upon arrival.  After undergoing testing at an area quality control lab, the Christmans learned that the Hungarian Nut Rolls have a shelf life of at least 59 days, "but they usually don't last very long,"  Nancy said with a wind.  "They also freeze well," she said.

The busiest times for Nancy's Heavenly Treats are major holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. "From mid-October to Christmas it's like a well-oiled machine," Nancy said.  "January and February are quiet.  I think people hunker down for the winter.  As spring breaks, I think people will start to buy more."

Nancy estimates she sold 5,000 nut rolls in 2006, and expects to double that number this year. "We are looking to expand," she said.  "We could do much more than we do now." "Now we have the capacity to do it," John said.  "We can do three times as many rolls as before with this new oven.  It makes a world of difference on how much you can do with it."

In September, the Christmas added a few more tasty treats to their repertoire.  These include Maple Pecan Cinnamon Buns and brownies in fudge and fudge mint chocolate chip varieties. 

While you can't just drive up to the Christman home and buy Nancy's baked treats, you can order them online at www.nancysheavenlytreats.com - they ship the vacuum sealed goodies anywhere in the lower 48 states.  The baked items are also available at several local business sites.  Prices may vary depending on the site.  Also available at some of the local sites are the Fudge Brownies, the Maple Pecan Cinnamon Bun and a new product: Oatmeal Cranberry Raisin Cookies.  "The oatmeal cookies are an old family recipe with craisins for a different flair on the typical oatmeal raisin cookie," Nancy said.

She said she would like to introduce more health- conscious items made with Stevia, a natural sugar substitute, in the future if there's a market for them. While owning your own business can be tough, Nancy said she prefers to be self-employed.  "I was in the gardening business, and it's a tough job.  This is a different kind of tough.  You just pick your 70 hours a week that you want to work," she said with a laugh.  "I like being my own boss."