Elmer’s Gold Brick Rabbits are only available around Easter, but the Louisiana candy company makes Gold Brick ice cream topping all year long.

In my “spring role” as First Assistant to the Easter Bunny, I have been to all the stores that sell Elmer’s candy — I’ve been very busy — to make sure that all my friends got special treats in their Easter baskets. Everybody wanted Gold Brick and Heavenly Hash eggs. Enjoying one of these yummies is like eating a piece of New Orleans tradition.

The company had its beginning way back in 1845 when a 16-year-old German named Christopher Henry Miller stepped off a ship and into New Orleans. Like so many eager immigrants, he was here to seek his fortune. By age 24, he had married, become a citizen, and opened the Miller Candy Company.

Mr. Miller, who died in 1902, was a very successful businessman and community activist. But he didn’t spend all his time making candy, because the Millers had 13 children.

One of his daughters married Augustus Elmer, and eventually he and three brothers-in-law changed the company name to Miller-Elmer. The name was changed to the Elmer Candy Company when Augustus’ sons entered the business in 1914.

In the 1920s, the company began mass producing Heavenly Hash. Then in the 1930s the formula was developed for those Gold Bricks we love so much. They were also known as chocolate-covered pecan meltaways. The recipe for the candy is unique. They are manufactured so that when you bite into the smooth, creamy chocolate, the temperature in your mouth makes the chocolate just melt away. Chocolate and nuts on the inside and more chocolate on the outside. Who could ask for anything more?

When the meltaways first appeared on the market, the going price for a candy bar was a nickel. But Elmer’s felt their product was so superior that they charged double. Those with little faith thought folks would not pay a whole dime, but the candy was wildly popular. Today, Gold Bricks are sold everywhere, and Louisiana is one of the major Easter-candy markets in America.

The company grew for 60 years and began making other products including “Chee Weez,” “Mint Bubblets,” and “Coconut Haystacks,” none of which we can get anymore. Gosh, I miss ’em.

The company was bought in 1967 by Roy Nelson, a local businessman, but he moved the plant to Ponchatoula. When the 1970s brought stiffer competition with national candy companies like Mars and Hershey, the Nelsons decided to focus their candy-making expertise on the seasonal business, making their goodies especially for Easter, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

And there is a recent development. You know those little pastel-colored hearts everybody gets on Valentine’s Day, the ones with the messages on them like “Be Mine,” and “UR2Cute”? Well, Elmer’s now makes them to order. They can print your company’s name on them or the name of your school. Or the hearts can feature the name of the bride and groom and you can throw them — the hearts — like rice at the wedding.

This season, if you were lucky you might have attended a pre-Easter event where you were entertained by Elmer Wabbit, another of Mr. E. Bunny’s assistants. He made appearances everywhere this year including hockey and baseball games, Easter egg hunts, the Tennessee Williams Festival, and the Crescent City Classic.

You will be happy to know that the company is now in the hands of the third generation of Nelsons, and the fourth generation is not far behind. So there will always be Gold Brick Easter Eggs, as well as the Gold Brick ice cream topping that’s easy to get any time of the year.

I remember when we could buy Heavenly Hash at the candy counters of D. H. Holmes and Maison Blanche. Ignatius Reilly gobbled up vast quantities of it, along with Dr. Nut. Thanks to Elmer’s, we can still get this delightful confection that is just as much a part of New Orleans tradition as pralines.