The Best Christmas Cookies In Every State
Christmas Cookie Craze
Getting a container of cookies from your neighbor during Christmastime is sort of like getting a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day: You wind up sifting through the medley in search of your favorite varieties. Have you ever wondered if your favorite Christmas cookie aligns with the rest of your state's preferences? A map shared with USA Today breaks it down, naming the most-searched Christmas cookies in each state according to Google Trends.
Related: Best Christmas Cookie Recipes
Gingerbread Cookies
Rich in flavor and adorable by design, gingerbread cookies are the most coveted cookie in these states:
District of Columbia
Georgia
Louisiana
Mississippi
Montana
South Carolina
Vermont
Related: Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies To Bake This Holiday Season
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Break out the cookie cutters, frosting, and sprinkles — sugar cookies are the optimal decorating cookie for a fun (and edible) Christmas activity. This go-to, classic cookie is the favorite in these states:
Alaska
Idaho
New Mexico
South Dakota
Wyoming
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Italian Christmas Cookies
From cake-like cookies glazed with icing to rainbow cookies, the repertoire of Italian Christmas cookies is as expansive as it is tasty. With a prominent Italian-American population in the Northeast, it's no wonder they're the best Christmas cookies in these states:
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Christmas Bar Cookies
Between chocolate chips and M&M's to brookies, cookie bars are always reliable. Here's where they're the fan favorite at Christmastime:
Illinois
Tennessee
Virginia
Washington
Peanut Butter Blossoms
If a chewy peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar with a Hershey kiss in the center doesn't sound appetizing to you, you might not be from one of these states where it's the No. 1 Yuletide choice:
Minnesota
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Mini Christmas Cookies
There's something so endearing about a bite-sized piece of shortbread with red and green sprinkles. Mini Christmas cookies are the holiday favorite in California.
Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies
Straightforward and slightly salty, peanut butter cookies are good any time of year, but they're best enjoyed during the holiday season if you're from Nevada.
Candy Cane Cookies
You don't have to enjoy peppermint to love candy cane cookies. These sugar cookies look like candy canes but taste like, well, sugar. They're the most beloved cookie in New Hampshire and Utah during the holidays.
Mexican Christmas Cookies
Hojarascas pack a punch in the flavor department with their cinnamon-sugar highlights. Folks in Arizona and Oklahoma opt for Mexican Christmas cookies during holiday baking.
Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies are basically the powdered doughnut of the cookie world, and they get the most holiday hype from Colorado residents.
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Why drink hot chocolate when you can eat it in cookie form? That's the philosophy in Kansas, where these chocolatey, mini marshmallow-laden cookies are a Christmastime favorite.
Springerle Cookies
These German cookies boast intricate, embossed designs and a buttery flavor, and according to Texans, they're the best Christmas cookie there is.
Ube Christmas Cookies
Hawaii is practically a mecca for all things ube, so it only makes sense that ube Christmas cookies are the state's holiday favorite.
Spritz Cookies
Almond extract gives spritz cookies a distinct flavor, and they're one of the most beloved decorative cookies — especially in Iowa.
Red Velvet Cookies
The color alone is enough to make red velvet cookies a good go-to for Christmas baking; the cream cheese frosting is merely a bonus. They're the holiday favorite in Missouri.
Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies
We've all heard the saying, "everything but the kitchen sink." If that's the notion for Christmas cookies, you might add ingredients like chocolate chips, M&M's, sprinkles, pretzels, and a partridge in a pear tree to your batter. The practice is so common in Arkansas that kitchen sink Christmas cookies earned the state's No. 1 spot.
Polish Christmas Cookies
Polish cookies — namely kolaczki, which are filled with fruit preserves — aren't just a good tea time treat. They're also ideal for Christmas, and are a favorite in Alabama and Michigan.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Not to be confused with snowball cookies because of the powdered sugar coating, Mexican wedding cookies are in a league of their own. They're the top Christmas cookie in Indiana and West Virginia.
Royal Icing Christmas Cookies
When it comes to decorating Christmas cookies, you can let the kids go wild with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles on sugar cookies. Or, if you're after something more aesthetically pleasing, royal icing is the way to go — especially in Kentucky, where royal icing Christmas cookies are the favorite.
Linzer Cookies
A jam-filled, buttery cookie with powdered sugar sprinkled on top is the gist of Linzer cookies, which are the top choice in Massachusetts.
German Christmas Cookies
Pfeffernüsse and Spitzbuben are just a couple of beloved German Christmas cookies. Bakers in Maryland consider them the star of the show during the holidays.
Moravian Cookies
Regarded as the "world's thinnest cookie," Moravian cookies lean on molasses and myriad spices for flavor. In North Carolina, they're the top pick at Christmastime.
Christmas Butter Cookies
Leave them plain like a shortbread cookie, add some sprinkles, or dip them in chocolate. There are tons of ways to enjoy Christmas butter cookies — just ask Floridians, who consider this the best Christmas cookie around.
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