The Sweet Life
Celebrating Confectionery Creators
The Sweet Life: Laughing Moon Chocolates
INTENTIONAL, PASSIONATE, AND COMMITTED
It’s rare to find this sweet chocolate shop not bustling with customers regardless of the season. Centrally located in the village of Stowe, it’s easy to find especially with its clever sign, a sliver of the moon inserted into their logo, Laughing Moon. Once inside, you are surrounded by chocolate; unique offerings include Chèvre Chamomile & Lavender Truffles or Barred Woods Maple Fudge. In this cozy shop, an array of delicious hot beverages will warm you up after a day on the slopes or shopping in town. A plate of samples graces the counter, offering a small bite or two to savor while shopping.
The recipe for success here is a well-balanced combination of traditional methods, superior ingredients, and the intention to create delicious handmade chocolates and confections. Going strong, Leigh Williams started Laughing Moon Chocolates 21 years ago. Growing up on Cape Cod, Leigh learned to make chocolate at Chatham Candy Manor. Her move to Vermont in 2001 was more for a change of scenery and to ski Vermont slopes, without any intention of making chocolate. She regrouped and by spring began making chocolate out of her house and selling it wholesale. She then opened her shop in Stowe in 2002. Leigh remains passionate about her craft, and her loyal customers return often. Some, she shares, come almost every day.
Everything is made right in her store, where she has created an exciting, creative, customerdriven focus along with a solid commitment to environmental stewardship. The Laughing Moon team works with purpose and enthusiasm to cook, prepare, and hand-dip what is often thousands of pieces per day. The place is humming. Leigh loves her product and receives great feedback from the community; she is proud of the fact that she can put a smile on people’s faces when they indulge in her products. She also has successfully created a fun and rewarding work environment for her employees.
The recipe for success here is a well-balanced combination of traditional methods, superior ingredients, and the intention to create delicious handmade chocolates and confections.
Sourcing local ingredients is paramount to Leigh’s business, which utilizes many of Vermont’s finest products. For example, Jasper Hill Farm Bayley Hazen Blue is used in Laughing Moon’s blue cheese truffles. Vermont Creamery chèvre is infused into Chèvre Chamomile & Lavender Truffles. Spirits from Caledonia Spirits, Green Mountain Distillers, and The Alchemist’s Heady Topper, and numerous local tea and herbs are infused into other truffles as well, making her unique array of flavors distinct while supporting local makers and growers.
The large, gleaming copper kettles are always in use whether they are swirling fresh ingredients for ganache, caramels, or the chocolate bits for their hot chocolate beverages—all made with local dairy. “Community members really appreciate what we do,” says Leigh, and it’s one of the key reasons she remains dedicated to her work. She relies on locals and a steady stream of tourists.
However, the pandemic changed everything at Laughing Moon, including closing the store for three months. Gradually, one person or family at a time could enter the shop. Everything was prepackaged; online sales and curbside pickup thrived. Slowly, the samples came back out.
The comfy and cozy vibe here, enriched by wafts of fresh chocolate from the chocolate kitchen, creates a warm and inviting space. You can look through the window to watch the chocolatiers immersed in their work. Sprinkled on shelves amidst the elegant cases of truffles, buttercreams, caramels, and fudge are a sampling of eclectic, interesting items for sale. Cuckoo clocks, colorful straw bags, sweatshirts, mugs, and way-cool scissors are among the items for sale, many of which support local artisans and craftspeople. Laughing Moon provides a perfect place to enjoy a delicious cup of hot chocolate with homemade marshmallow while perusing the cases and shelves to find a one-of-a-kind gift for a loved one.
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