Connolly’s Tom And Jerry Batter
By brian on Nov 23, 2009 in
Connolly’s Bakery in Superior began whipping up its brand of Tom and Jerry Batter 60 years ago. The bakery closed in the 1980s, but the yummy batter — perfect for serving warm with a shot of rum and a shot of brandy — remains a holiday tradition. Upper Lakes Foods purchased the original recipe, which is made in a creamery in Cedarburg, Wis., and distributed to your local liquor store. Pick some up at Keyport Liquor.
We are from the Midwest and currently live in Las Vegas. We haven’t been able to find Tom & Jerry batter here -- most don’t even know what it is!
Do you know where we could purchase some? Would it be something that can be shipped?
Thanks for your help.
You’d have to contact either Upper Lakes Foods or Cedar Crest Ice Cream to find out for sure, but I’m guessing neither would ship a single container to Las Vegas because it’s a frozen item and they don’t have little coolers on hand for such a thing. But maybe if you offered to pay an excessive amount or someone was overwhelmed with Christmas spirit it could happen.
Connolly’s!!!
When I lived in Colorado, we made it from scratch. You can find several recipes online. I suggest using the best quality eggs you can find (i.e. Eggland’s Best). Not quite the same, but still pretty good! Nothing like that first T & G to kick off the holiday season.
OK this is sad but I have never had a T&J in my life. It’s just not done where I come from. Where can I order one, so I can see what all the hype is about? Can I get them at any bar?
The Pickwick used to be well known for serving excellent Tom & Jerrys. I haven’t been there since it changed ownership, but the odds are probably good they have them.
Carmody made good ones last year, but they are using an inferior non-Connolly’s batter this year. Mrs. Bowen’s doesn’t cut it.
Probably a good bet for Connolly’s would be any bar in Superior that is also a liquor store — Keyport, Shack, Hammond, etc.
Thanks Paul! I’ll have to check out one of these places tomorrow evening! And since I do have reason to go to Supe-Town…
I’ve not been able to track down any Connolly’s this year. A guy at the Shack said that Super One bought the recipe. Shack and Keyport are selling Mrs. Bowens.
Holy cow! Thanks for the scoop, Berv. That must be a somewhat recent development. I know that in 2009, when this post was created, Keyport and the Shack had Connolly’s.
Bums me out! I didn’t see any at Super One either over Thanksgiving weekend, but I didn’t look very hard and didn’t ask anyone. I remember in junior high stopping at Connolly’s Bakery on Belknap (where Domino Pizza is now) quite often either before or after school to get a glazed doughnut twist or chocolate covered custard longjohn for 35c.
I know the Super One in West Duluth got its T&J shipment the day after the Christmas City of the North Parade.
This is definitely a Midwestern thing.
My mother once shipped some Connolly’s batter to my sister living in Charlston SC. She used dry ice and it cost more to ship than the tub of batter.
Rick Boo at Carmody said he was unable to order any Connelly’s from the distributor, so it is most likely true. If you get em made with with love though, Mrs. Bowen’s will suffice.
This just in: The Flame Nightclub in Superior has Connolly’s Tom & Jerrys.
Super One in West Duluth had an entire freezer crate filled with Mrs. Bowen’s mix. I did not see any Connolly’s. Someone posted on Facebook that Connolly’s was really hard to get and Super One was keeping it in the back, and would grab you one if you asked for it. Does anyone know what is behind this shortage? I can’t imagine a holiday season w/o a few Tom and Jerrys. And after the picture I saw of Paul trying Mrs Bowen’s at Carmody, I’m not sure I want to try it.
I just tried some Mrs. Bowens. The batter was kind of gummy coming out of the container, and set up pretty thin in the mug. Weak taste. Verdict: substandard Tom and Jerry mix. Bring back Connolly’s!
Or, you could always look online for a recipe perfect it, and call it your own! Here is one from Heavy Table that also talks about Connolly’s too. There are heaps of recipes out there, including one from Trader Vics, and more. Many claiming to be ‘the best’ for what that’s worth.
They all seem to have about the same ingredients, and although the article claims that only the non-homemade batters are shelf stable -- several recipes I found nearly all claimed to last for several weeks in the refrigerator (longer in the freezer I’m sure).
They all seem to vary in ingredients, some using more than the usual eggs, sugar (bar or bakers), powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; but some include: butter, powdered milk, salt, vanilla, and cream of tartar to name a few. The liquor varies as well, either mixing with Rum, Brandy or Whiskey, plus boiling water, or hot coffee or milk.
Check the Connolly’s container, see what ingredients are in theirs, then go to a site and grab the amounts = your best homemade bet.
Who knows, you may end up making something even better!
According to the container, Connolly’s has a shelf life of seven days and a freezer life of three months.
Ingredients: powdered sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, corn syrup, dextrin, dextrose, egg whites, food starch -- modified, cream of tartar, pectin, sodium aluminum sulfate, artificial flavor, artificial color, vanillin, ethyl vanillin, salt (made with pasteurized eggs)
Paul, did you get those ingredients while looking at the container? If so, did you find someplace that’s selling it this year? I know you mentioned the Flame, but I’m looking to take some home rather than go out and have one. I emailed both ULF and Super One to see if I can get some answers.
Yes, I picked up two containers at the West Duluth Super One three weeks ago. I haven’t been back there yet to confirm the scarcity rumors. With all the activity on this thread constantly reminding me of the commodity I have, it’s been difficult to ration it. I’m almost out of batter, and hoping the Super One Santa doesn’t let me down.
Just got this email from Super One:
Chris, Thank you for choosing http://www.superonefoods.com for your inquiry. Our company was able to procure a very limited amount of this product for the holiday season. The producer and distributor of this product decided to discontinue producing and distributing the item., so we are anticipating that this may be the end of the availability of this product. We knew we weren’t going to have enough supply of this product to meet demand, so that is why you are also seeing Mrs. Bowen’s in many of our stores. I agree, the Connolly’s product is far superior. Our Tom & Jerry experts tell us that Connolly’s contains vanilla while Mrs. Bowen’s does not. I wish I had better news for you regarding this product, but sadly I do not. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for next year that someone else will step forward to manufacture and distribute this quality product that has had a tremendous following in our markets for many years.
Sincerely,
Scott Heikkinen
Online Sales & Marketing
Super One Foods
Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
there ya go…the ‘secret’ ingredient is vanilla!
so by the looks of that ingredient list, you need:
powdered sugar
baking/bar sugar (very fine sugar that breaks down easier)
whole eggs
salt
(cornstarch?/tapioca)
vanilla
cream of tartar
nutmeg
powdered milk
and the other spices (cinnamon, cloves)
the rest are nasty things./unneeded.
Sadness.
Aaaauuugggghhhhh! Worst Christmas ever.
A handy FYI. Fine granulated sugar can be made at home by taking easy to find regular granulated sugar and putting it into a food processor with a metal blade for a few minutes.
A blender might work too, but I have not tried one for the task.
Paul, when you have emptied your Connolly’s containers, can I have them? I’m going to wash them out, fill them with homemade T&J mix (using a recipe that includes vanilla), and auction them off to one of you crazy, Connolly’s-loving suckers.
I’ve never seen anything like it! You people are T&J addicts! Good one, Ms Dean, to make a profit off these addicts, so you can finance your jaunt to Mexico.
Finally heard from Upper Lakes Foods. There’s hope for next year anyway…
Chris,
Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a manufacturer to produce the Connolly’s Tom and Jerry Mix for us this year. It is not available this holiday season, but we are hoping to find someone able to produce this for us to have in time for next year.
Happy Holidays!
Erin Bradshaw
Upper Lakes Foods, Inc.
Good work, Chris!
No problem. I actually considered sitting back and letting Lundgren figure it out. I thought it was only a matter of time before he made some calls and had all the answers. I thought he could use a little time off before this crazy Holiday season.
@Chris: The post that saved Christmas! Next year.
Had some Mrs. Bowen’s last night. Was not impressed. Glad that Connolly’s is coming back!!
I heard last night that the Flame in Superior was inundated with Connolly’s worshipers and is now out of batter. So, yeah, better luck next year.
Hopefully someone in Superior will take up the job of manufacturing Connolly’s, bringing it back home where it belongs.
Here’s the trademark info:
This sounds like a job for the PDD community … perhaps leasing of a food-grade kitchen and some mass batter making, lots of product testing. This could be the good we do each year. Perfect Duluth Batter.
I finally had my first Tom & Jerry’s — at Black Woods. It was OK. No way could it have been made with Connolly’s batter.
Wish I was still in Duluth/Superior.
Indiana: when you ask for a Tom & Jerry in a bar/pub/tavern here, they think you’re talking about mice.
I had some extra batter leftover from last year and followed the suggestion to use it for French toast. MAJOR WIN.
Any word on the production of Connolly’s Batter…can’t image Christmas without Tom and Jerry’s in our Santa mugs with red & green sugar sprinkled on the batter. We are on our 4th generation of carrying on this tradition!
I’d be interested in a natural batter, or making my own. Organic or demonstrably quality ingredients would be nice.
I have a tub of Connolly’s in my freezer as I type this. I had a super duper pal give it to me on Thanksgiving. I’m saving it for x-mas eve. It’s no longer in production I guess. You can get a Mrs. Bowens T & J at Carmody Irish Pub.