I drive past the blue city limit sign that indicates I have reached the hometown of Luke Bryan, Buster Posey, Phillip Phillips, and Carly Mathis. This small town in Southwest Georgia is not only home to this big talent but also houses some of the finest people you will ever have the opportunity to meet. Most especially, the Goodson family, who are the proud owners of Goodson Pecans, call this small town home.
Goodson Pecans is a small business located in Leesburg, Georgia that creates and sells shelled pecans, gourmet pecans such as the cinnamon sugar or sriracha flavors, and pecan butters. The idea for this business stemmed from Goodson Farms where all of the pecans are harvested for Goodson Pecan products.
David Goodson, the driving force behind making the dream of Goodson Pecans a reality, said that he pushed for his dad, a farmer since 1972, to bring the pecans grown by Goodson Farms to the internet.
“I had always been telling my dad about two years before we started we need to start getting our pecans online. The internet was a huge avenue already for things. We talked about that for two years and nothing. No traction.”
Goodson then took the business idea into his own hands and started to build Goodson Pecans.
“After that second year, I was like I just have to get out there and try it. We built a website and we essentially started Goodson Pecans at that point. We got a business license, and we were selling shelled pecan halves and pieces. The next year we added some sugar coated pecans and every year after that we’ve just been expanding.”
Goodson started running Goodson Pecans from his home, but as the list of pecan products kept growing, a new facility was needed.
As he sits on a metal stool in the middle of their packaging area, he said:
“We moved from our home into here when we started making pecan butter. We couldn’t do that in our home. We were required by the department of agriculture to be in a commercial facility. It was a big step for us to move from our home into a commercial facility.”
The facility is not incredibly large but allows the Goodson family to create most of their gourmet flavors and all of their nut butters in house. The store smells like warm pecans, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate. As you look around, you can tell that this facility is used to create, pack, and send Georgia grown pecans to people all across the country not just in this corner of Georgia.
One flavor of Goodson Pecans, Mimi’s Sugar Pecans, was created from an old family recipe and some flavors, such as the chocolate covered variety, are made locally. However, most of the delectable artisan products that Goodson Pecans sells are surprisingly created by trial and error.
“I love creating and it drives my wife crazy because I’ll say we need to try a savory flavor and I’ll get in the back and play with it. We’d play with recipes and say it needs a little more of this or a little more of this and we’d go back to the kitchen and work it out. That’s how Sriracha came about.”
The Goodson Pecans Gourmet Sriracha flavor has proven to be a successful savory and spicy flavor for the business, winning the 2017 Flavor of Georgia for the snack category.
“Sriracha won Flavor of Georgia back in March, and it’s been flying off the shelves this year. We’ve been super encouraged with it. We never thought that it would have been as popular as it was.”
Goodson Pecans prides itself on being a family business that creates products that are georgia grown.
“Georgia grown is important because of my product and our pecans are Georgia Grown. Pecans taste different here. They taste better. People say that and I’m probably biased but there’s also a little truth behind that.”
Goodson also knows the importance of georgia crafted products to his business as well:
“It’s valuable to be Georgia Crafted because that’s also who we are. We take what we grow and we craft it into something else. We add value to our product and that’s where I think there is great value in being Georgia Crafted.”
In this small town of Leesburg, Georgia, the taste of a Goodson Pecan reminds you that you’re in the part of the South that keeps it Georgia Grown, Georgia Made, and Georgia Crafted.
To try Goodson Pecans, you can check out the 2017 Flavor of Georgia gift box featuring Goodson Pecans Sriracha flavor or purchase the Cinnamon Sugar or Sriracha flavors by the bag in the Build a Gift Box section of our website.
We featured delicious, gluten free Oliver Farm Pecan Flour in our August subscription box. Have you used yours yet? You can also buy a bag of this Pecan Flour in our shop, whether you missed out in August or you're ready to buy more.
Here's a great way to use that Pecan Flour: Clay at Oliver Farms sent over a decadent pecan flour brownie recipe. With triple chocolate and double pecans (and 2 sticks of butter, y'all!), these brownies promise to be a truly special treat.
These pecan flour brownies are a rich, triple-chocolate treat—perfect for a special occasion. Top with vanilla ice cream for an even-sweeter treat!
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free if needed)
1/4 cup Oliver Farms Pecan Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup toasted pecan halves, finely chopped
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350º F.
Coat a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray, and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, pecan flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
Gently melt chopped semisweet chocolate, unsweet chocolate, and butter together in a medium bowl over simmering water, or in a microwaveable bowl. Cool to lukewarm.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the lukewarm chocolate mixture while whisking, then allow to cool to room temperature.
Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating once during baking, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Do not overbake.
Cool on a rack before cutting.
These brownies can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container. Best eaten within 3 days.
Recipe courtesy of Oliver Farm, via Dede Wilson on bakepedia.
Happy September 1st, y'all! How did that just happen? Seriously. It's September 1st. That means college football season is finally upon us, and cooler weather is just around the corner. It also means that holiday shopping is REALLY around the corner! We can't wait! :)
Last week, we shipped out our "August Finds" Box. After spending 5 days at AmericasMart in July and discovering SO many new products, we thought August would be a fun month to send you a Discovery Box filled with 4 of our favorites from this year's show.
With that being said...drum roll please!!! Introducing the "August Finds" box!
In this Discovery Box, we curated 4 products from all over Georgia - Norman Park, Savannah, Pitts and Marietta, Georgia.
Georgia Peach Salsa
Lauri Jo's - Norman Park, GA
All I can say is WOW. This stuff is GOOD. The perfect fruit-salsa ratio if you ask me and it just screams Georgia! Laurie Jo's is based in Norman Park, GA. While she is widely known for her incredible pepper jellies, she has an incredible line of other products including this Salsa. We are a HUGE fan and expect to see this product for a long time on our website!
Order HERE!
Pimento Cheese Dressing
Dr. Pete's - Savannah
When I think back to my time at AmericasMart last month, I sometimes chuckle to myself because every time I walked past Dr. Pete's corner booth, I would seriously try to SNEAK a taste of their Pimento Cheese Dressing. I wish there was video footage of my face when I first had it - priceless. Pimento Cheese Dressing, y'all! SO.DARN.GOOD.
Order HERE!
Pecan Flour
Oliver Farm - Pitt's, GA
You may be asking what is Pecan Flour exactly. Well, it's a type of Gluten Free baking flour made from pecans. It's that simple. It's such an incredible replacement for traditional white & wheat flour. It is downright amazing in some pancakes or even some brownies. We will be touching upon this a bit more in the near future...but let's just say this should be a staple in your pantry!
Order HERE!
Lemongrass & Mint Soap
Indigo Bath & Body - Marietta, GA
You can never go wrong with a bar of soap from Indigo Bath & Body. The girls who run this company are not only some of the coolest in Georgia - they are amazing entrepreneurs and run their business from their farm in Marietta. The ingredients in their soap - Lemongrass & Mint - are not store-bought ingredients. They are grown right there on their farm and incorporated into their products. I'd like to call that Farm to Body (I'm going to coin this term and make it mine, y'all!).
Seriously - get yourself some of this soap. It lasts an extremely long time and smells amazing.
Order HERE!
When you sign up for a Georgia Crafted Subscription Box, you will receive a wide array of products - all to help you Discover what amazing products are being made right here in Georgia.
We are officially taking pre-orders for our "Georgia On My Mind" Subscription Box that is in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Tourism! You have until 9/30 to sign up and you will receive your box between the 15th and 25th of October!
You can sign up here: https://georgiacrafted.com/collections/subscribe
This box will contain 4 products that will definitely keep Georgia On Your Mind!
We hope you enjoyed our "August Finds" reveal!
