Specific types of baked goods are inextricably tied to the Holiday season… Families tradi-tionally get together both to make them and eat them. And this year, we have a survey to tell us what the top faves are. Behold Google’s ‘Most-Searched Holiday Cookie’ map…
I have fond recollections of the ladies from my extended family on both sides (Mom’s and Dad’s) getting together to make a variety of Holiday-fave cookies, squares and other baked novelties over the pre-Christmas period and the week between Christmas and New Year’s…
Almost guessed right…
I almost guessed right, about what America’s favourite seasonal cookie was. But I was a few countries too far west. I had just reflexively voted for the classic Sugar Cookie. That’s the flat, almondy, vanilla-y, blank-canvas crispy white wafer that so many family cookie-decorating parties are structured around.
Classic decorated Sugar and Gingerbread Cookies…
Not quite the fave this year. The official specific fave was the Italian Christmas Cookie (ICC), also a white, almondy (sometimes lemony), cookie that lends itself to decorating in endless motifs. The main difference is, it’s anything but flat, mounding up cakey and light. And it’s almost as popular as a gift at year-end holiday time in Italy as the immortal, unique, obligatory Panettone!
Although the ICC only captured 7 of the vote overall, that was more than any other cookie type Americans Googled the recipe for over the past few weeks of 2024.
The map…
The official Google map is broken down by state, with reach state shown in one of 5 different colours: The ‘short list’ of specific cookies produced by the Google data-mining survey was actually so long, they had to narrow it to general categories: Classic, Festive, Fruit/Nutty, Chocolate and Other. The ‘Festive’ category accounted for an overwhelming 29 states. ‘Classic’ came next, tied with Fruity/Nutty, each garnering a mere 8 states. Chocolate was well back from them with 5 states. Other/’Kitchen Sink’ came last with just 4 states.
My take
The Italian Christmas Cookie – known as the Angletti (translates to ‘little angels’ in Italian) – is a festive staple there. Mrs. Indovina across the street gave us a plate of hers every Christmas. Mom traded back some of her Scottish Shortbreads. Just one of a thousand little childhood memory snippets involving year-end holiday foods…
Writing this post brought back thoughts of Aunt Eunice’s Nanaimo bars, Aunt Dora’s Oatmeal-Raisin cookies. Grannie’s Gingerbreads, Aunt Muriel’s Fruity/Nutty Hermits… and many others.
That’s just one example of how cooking can ‘get you into the Holiday spirit’ – at the drop of a treasured childhood memory…
~ Maggie J.