As far as Christmas treats are concerned, there are plenty to choose from. Each of them may have its own place, from peppermint bark to Santa Claus chocolates but if you really want to get down to brass tacks, you need to take a look at the cookies.
General Mills decided to collect all of the data at their disposal, including search data from BettyCrocker.com, Pillsbury.com, and Tablespoon.com. The goal was to create a festive map that shows the most popular cookie recipes according to the state in which the person was searching.
On the Betty Crocker website, you see the classic peanut butter blossoms (the peanut butter cookie with the Hershey kiss on top). It seems as if they were a crowdpleaser, sweeping seven states with the top spot, including Florida, Pennsylvania, California, Kentucky, Nevada, South Carolina, and Wyoming. Peanut butter also seemed to be a favorite with other types of cookies as well, including Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies, and 2-Ingredient PB-Chocolate Truffles.
It seems as if peanut butter has a special place in the hearts of those who bake for the holidays. Those who enjoy decorating cookies more than baking, however, are probably the reason why sugar cookies show up so often across the nation. Sugar Cookie Cutouts, Easy Spritz Cookies, and Easy Italian Christmas Cookies are at the heart of the blank slate that allows you to get creative.
Aside from the plain sugar cookie and peanut butter snacks, the rest of the results seem to be all over the place. For example, Iowa enjoys the figure eight-shaped Swedish Kringla and at the top of the list in Michigan was a jam-filled Polish Kolaczki. Interestingly, gingerbread cookies did make the list but only in the state of Hawaii.
As you look down through the list you may see a particular favorite that is missing altogether. I’m talking about chocolate chip cookies, but don’t worry about the popularity declining. General Mills decided to take them out of the study since they are the most searched for cookie recipe on the Betty Crocker website all year long. If they would have kept the chocolate chip cookie in the mix, it would have been at the top for 22 states.
If you are interested in cookie recipes, family traditions and all of the recipes that made the list, you can find them on the General Mills website.