The Most Popular Christmas Treat In Every State (Spoiler: It’s looking pretty cheese-y)

Christmas is one of ten federal holidays.

While many workers such as hospital staff and other essential workers will spend the day working, most will have the day off to spend with their families.

There will presents exchanged and holiday traditions followed. A surprising amount of those traditions, of course, involve food. You know the usuals, drool worthy Christmas fudge, tasty cakes, pudding galore, and did we mention the cookies?

It got us thinking, what foods will every one be eating? Are some states crazier for trifle than others? Anyone cheesecaking it out? We analyzed Google searches to determine each state’s favorite Christmas treat.

The results? So. much. cheesecake.

Most Interesting Findings

• A staggering 9 states chow down on cheesecake during the winter holidays
• 20 states dig cakes, while 12 want candy, and 10 know cookies are what’s up
• That doesn’t even count Pennsylvania and Hawaii who busy eating gingerbread cheesecake and oreo cheesecake
• Move over California, Missouri searches for “vegan christmas cookies” more than any other state.
• Wyoming and Arizona like their treats liquid, as delicious hot chocolate and less delicious egg nog
• Forget candy you can get in the grocery store everyday, New Jersey knows treats are more satisfying when they have a chocolate-y Santa face
• Only North Dakota is a big fan of vastly, underrated peanut butter blossoms
• Oh give me some Christmas pudding, oh give me some pudding (says Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee)
• Why do the Carolinas like fruitcake so much?

How We Figured This Out

Using Google Trends, we determined what Christmas treat each state eats a disproportionate amount of. We examined over 40 Christmas classics- including candy stocking stuffers, peppermint yumminess, and all the cakes. From there, we determined what treat is searched a disproportionately, high amount.

For example, while Wisconsin eats all the Christmas classics the rest of the country does, the search interest for Andes mints in Wisconsin is higher than the remaining states. This makes Andes mints more popular in Maine than anywhere else.

In the event of two (or more) dishes tying for a state, the dessert with the highest search volume was chosen.

In general, search volume is sky high across the country for fudge, peppermint bark, cheesecake, and gingerbread. But some states are serving up more obscure classics than others.

Some controversial decisions were made, including counting hot chocolate as a snack. While it is a liquid, it also has dubious nutritional volume and is such a solid winter snack we let it slide.

We looked at the month of December 2019 to determine what folks are searching for the most in each state.

How this year changes (if it does) won’t be apparent until after Christmas- and who wants to wait that long? Luckily, odds are good most of us will still be buying candy canes eating Christmas fudge, along with the other favorites this year; and probably in 2050, too.

Eat Up, You Need Your Strength For Job Hunting

From Thanksgiving To New Year’s, job hunting is low.

Most people don’t want to rock the boat or fit in job interviews, in the hectic, already stressful holiday season. Similarly, companies often let late vacancies slide over into the New Year.

So, use this time to relax, tweak your resume, and have an extra Oreo ball. Because job hunting season is coming, and this year you might just get the gift of a job you really love.

Each State’s Favorite Treat

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Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.