Life is sweet for Julia Bayly and Debra Durkin.

And buttery. And a little nutty.

But when it all gets to be too much, they take a break. A Toffee Break, that is. As partners in the Fort Kent-based specialty food company, they spend much of the winter running around like madwomen, churning out English toffee and smashing it into bite-size pieces for hungry crowds from Maine to California. Once the weather warms up, business melts away, literally.

“Bad things happen to toffee in the summer,” Bayly said, laughing and wrinkling her nose. “The base ingredient is butter. We really are very seasonal.”

Last year, a woman called frantically from Fresno, Calif. Her husband had bought her a bag of Toffee Break while vacationing in Mystic, Conn. She wanted more. And she wanted it right away. But the temperature in Fresno had topped 100 F. She didn’t care about the cost. She just wanted toffee.

“She spent more for shipping than for the candy,” Bayly said over toffee cheesecake in the kitchen of the home she shares with her husband, Patrick Ouellette, and her father, Michael Bayly. “Once people try it, they want it. That’s our one challenge. People can’t taste it through the package or over the Internet. Once people try it, we have them.”

The candy, made from Bayly’s late mother’s recipe, is seductive and addicting. It’s sweet and salty and crunchy all at once.

“My mom was a gourmet cook,” Bayly said.

Joanne Bayly made toffee at Christmas, and it was always a hit. Julia followed in her footsteps, and one year, a friend offered to pay her if she’d make an extra batch of the melt-in-your-mouth confection.

Bayly, a professional writer, avid cyclist, sled-dog racer, and sometime contributor to the Bangor Daily News, was working as the editor of the St. John Valley Times. In the mid-1990s, Durkin joined the staff as a reporter, and the two became fast friends. About five years ago, both decided to leave the paper, but they enjoyed working together, so they decided to start the toffee business as a part-time venture. Plus, they both had dreams of going to Scotland, and they figured if they made a little extra money, they could afford a trip.

In 2001, they made a few batches to sell at the Fort Kent Arts and Crafts Fair.

“Halfway through the first day, we sold out,” Bayly said.

After a few more successful craft fairs, they knew they were on to something, so they built a separate toffee kitchen in an unfinished space in Bayly’s house. Durkin had a huge stainless steel sink from the days when she ran a deli in Tennessee. They did spring for a stove, but they did most of the work themselves. Friends designed their labels.

“We did everything as simply as possible,” Bayly said. “We didn’t want to borrow money.”

Their big toffee break came two years ago, when they were invited to participate in the New England Products Trade Show in Portland. Their booth was spare in comparison to the “villages” other exhibitors built, but the candy spoke for itself, and vendors from Maine to Connecticut placed orders.

Since then, the business has grown steadily. They recently received a grant to redesign their labels and packaging. Orders keep coming in, especially around the holidays. Durkin, who works for a Fort Kent florist, manages the finances and ordering, while Bayly concentrates on market research and development. But neither is sure she wants it to become a full-time job – that might take the fun out of it.

“Right now we can get together and talk and argue about our politics and it’s no stress at all,” Durkin said, smiling. “We’re not opposed to it, but right now we’re not seeking it out, either.”

Their kitchen is just big enough for two. It’s small, clean and well organized, with sheets of toffee cooling on baking sheets. They make five varieties: original, chocolate original with swirls of white and dark chocolate, hazelnut, chocolate hazelnut and chocolate almond.

“Everything we do is designed to be wonderfully gourmet, but simple,” Bayly said.

On a recent visit, chocolate almond and chocolate original were the flavors of the day. Durkin picked up a cookie sheet and dropped it on the counter. The toffee shattered into dozens of pieces.

“Hence the name,” Durkin said.

As she weighed the toffee and sealed it in cellophane bags, Durkin explained the arc of their business.

“It’s kind of strange,” she said. “Everything keeps falling together with this without a whole lot of pushing. One thing kind of just leads to another.”

“We’re kind of at a leap of faith point,” Bayly added. “We’re as busy as we want to be. … I want to keep writing and traveling, but to be able to do something like this part time would be splendid.”

As long as it’s fun, they want to continue. And they still want to go to Scotland, which they haven’t done yet – most of the money they’ve made has gone right back into the kitchen. They’ll get there, though. And once they do?

“After Scotland, we’ll draw another country from the hat,” Bayly said, laughing.

Toffee Break costs $3.75 to $3.95 for a 4-ounce bag and is available at Pelletier’s Florist and Artistree Gallery in Fort Kent, Perry’s Nut House in Belfast, Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. You can also order online (no credit cards) by sending an e-mail to toffeebreak@hotmail.com. Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.