-Isms: Views on life in rural America

If I asked 20 Nebraskans, “What is your favorite holiday dessert,” I imagine I would receive 20 different responses.

My favorite treat: bing bars. No shock to those of you who know me well. I also like smooth, creamy fudge; pink divinity, like Mom used to make; and Sandy’s decorated sugar cookies.

Sure, there may be other desserts on the buffet table, but a well-outfitted holiday spread is all about the candy and cookies ... or so it’s been our family tradition.

I was shocked when I saw a map on The Pioneer Woman website listing the top classic desserts for each state. According to the article, the website Zippia “used Google Trends to determine American’s favorite Christmas dessert by state.”

Cheesecake was a favorite in nine states, but in the heart of beef country. No, according to Google Trends, Nebraskans prefer York Peppermint Patties for Christmas dessert.

Say what?

I enjoy a York pattie every now and then. It’s a thin layer of coolness surrounded in a light chocolate coating. What’s not to like? It wouldn’t be my first choice for a holiday dessert though.

What about other states? What decadent dessert do they devour?

Kansans prefer cinnamon rolls; Iowegans, Oreo balls; SoDaks enjoy sugar cookies and Coloradoans devour gingerbread cake.

Perhaps we are lucky we don’t reside in Wyoming. Egg nog seems to be classified as a holiday dessert there. Hawaiians want M&Ms. In Utah, jolly ranchers take the cake -er, the top spot for desserts. And Missouri residents? They want vegan Christmas cookies. I scoured the internet for a few recipes. Can we purchase vegan chocolate chips in this neck of the woods?

The big takeaway from the Pioneer Woman article, in my opinion, is that the search engine doesn’t know what it’s talking about.

According to the tech giant, “Google Trends normalizes search data to make comparisons between terms easier. Search results are normalized to the time and location of a querry by the following process: Each data point is divided by the total searches of the geography and time range it represents to compare relative popularity.”

Somehow, I don’t believe York Peppermint Pattie is the most-searched term over a period of time across the state of Nebraska. Sure, it might have been a hot search item for five minutes, but over an extended period of time - I’m going to go out on a Christmas tree limb here - and speculate that more traditional holiday treats top lists from Husker Nation.

To test my hypothesis, I ventured to the website and typed in Christmas dessert. Nebraska ranks fourth in interest, based on subregion (state), over the past year. Related searches included the terms Christmas crack recipe, dessert charcuterie board Christmas, oreo truffles, Christmas dessert board and dessert charcuterie board.

Sidenote: Don’t most families produce some sort of charcuterie dessert board, known in these parts, as a goodie tray?

No mention of peppermint patties.

No specific focus on the word “York.”

Hypothesis confirmed. Pass the bing bars.