I look forward all year round to the sweet treats that abound during the holiday season. Having a plate of homemade cookies to munch on as you finish up your present wrapping and tree decorating adds an air of festivity and celebration to the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everyone has a favorite Christmas cookie to enjoy this time of year, and this map shows the most popular Christmas cookies in each state. Do you agree with your state's choice?
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We all grew up eating different Christmas desserts, but there are some general trends when it comes to these festive sweets. The flavor of peppermint is popular this time of year, and warm comforting spices like gingerbread and cinnamon are always a favorite, along with chocolatey truffles and crispy biscotti. For those who stick to the classics, a plate of chewy chocolate chip cookies or gooey brownies can never go wrong, no matter the occasion.
What Is The Most Popular Christmas Cookie?
Last year, Instagram collected data on the most popular holiday cookies across the US, using the likes and mentions of various cookies to find the favorites. Although we Americans have a deep love of many holiday sweets, the findings pointed to two especially popular cookies- peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies.
Each of these were found to be the most popular in 10 states, so they tied for the most popular Christmas cookies in America! Peanut butter was number one in Delaware, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia. As for sugar cookies, these goodies were most popular in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Sugar cookies are an obvious choice when it comes to holiday baking since you can use cut-outs to make a Christmas-themed cookie tray full of Santas, candy canes and Christmas trees. They also provide the opportunity to decorate with buttercream or Royal icing and sprinkles in the colors of your choosing, making the whole experience fun and interactive for the family. Here's a classic sugar cookie recipe to make delicious sugar cookies for a cookie exchange or holiday party.
We're a bit surprised that peanut butter cookies are the other winner above holiday classics like gingerbread cookies and snickerdoodles. However, no one can deny that a peanut butter blossom is addictingly delicious for a cookie platter, and it goes great with hot chocolate or eggnog.
After peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies, the next most popular Christmas cookie was found to be shortbread cookies in 8 states, with gingerbread cookies chosen in 7 states, close behind. Gingerbread cookies are a classic, whether you make gingerbread men or go for classic round holiday treats. The flavors of brown sugar, ginger, molasses and cinnamon just scream holiday season!
As for shortbread cookies, we're not surprised that these buttery treats came in third for the best Christmas cookie recipes. After these four, fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies were found to be number five, and then oatmeal cookies, snickerdoodle cookies and classic chocolate chip cookies. Check the map and see if you agree with your state's pick!
