GREENVILLE, Texas — This holiday season , if your name is Mary, drop into either Mary of Puddin Hill locations and receive a complimentary chocolate enrobed strawberry, now- through Christmas Eve.
Mary of Puddin Hill has been a Christmas legend for more than 60 years and is considered by many to be Texas' best tasting fruitcake. Made from Mary Horton's original heirloom recipe the cakes are abundant with pecans or walnuts, apricots, cherries, pineapples and dates—with just enough batter to hold it all together. There are no spices, citron, preservatives or additives, keeping the flavor legendary.
Each December, the little bakery founded in Greenville, Texas ships thousands of fruitcakes and other homemade goodies around the globe.
Mary Horton Lauderdale began it all baking fruitcakes using her namesake great grandmother's recipe, a pioneer woman with a family farm on a northeast Texas patch of Blackland Prairie. In 1839, Mary's husband, James Horton, received 620 acres of land as payment for his services to the Republic of Texas.
The day Mary and James arrived at their new home site, rain poured consistently . Gully washers make any patch of Texas Blackland soil a soggy, gummy mess. Even so, James and his proud family slogged around the site as he led them to the crest of a small hill when Mary, struggling through the thick black mud declared, "This is like walking through pudding."
Inspired, James spread his arms wide and proudly shouted, "welcome to Puddin Hill.!"
More than a century later, Mary's great granddaughter, Lauderdale, started making fruitcakes out of their tiny apartment from advice given to her by her economics professor. Mary's parent's loaned her the money to purchase the fruit and friends helped prepare cakes.
Five hundred pounds of fruitcake later, they realized they might be on to something, moving to Greenville and opening their first store in 1975 located at E. Interstate 30, Exit 95.
Stop by for your free chocolate enrobed strawberry in Greenville or at Uptown Village in Cedar Hill.
For more information and to order online go to www.puddinhill.com.
Souirce: Mary of Puddin Hill
