on the more complicated end of state desserts

September 12, 2022 1:26 PM

Within the United States of America, regionally beloved goodies are also a thing. It's easy to see how history has played a part in that. In corn-laden Midwestern states like Nebraska, sweets involve popcorn. In whiskey-filled Kentucky, you'll find bourbon in the candies. Sampling these recipes easily illuminates a part of a state's food culture — hopefully, a delicious one. For your next road trip, don't forget to leave room for dessert. Here are the absolute best desserts in every US state.
posted by sciatrix (114 comments total)

oh good, they got Iowa's right.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:33 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

and Wisconsin's, skipped most of 'em 'cause I was scrolling down muttering "if you chucklefucks don't choose kringle I swear to GOD"
posted by taquito sunrise at 1:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [9 favorites]

Personally I consider the true article Key Lime pie to be a rather nasty concoction, egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk curdled with the intense acidity of the keylimes, which have a peculiarly disagreeable odor in the copious oil of their skins. I have made this pie with freshly self-harvested keylimes and feel prepared to pass judgement on it.

I know of a restaurant where the dessert cook makes mango puree-based thing with similar textured filling and crust, and it is enormously better.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Not giving red velvet cake to any state is an interesting look, but I approve.
posted by box at 1:45 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

I opened this prepared to see zeppole for Rhode Island. I was not disappointed.
posted by Ruki at 1:53 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Key Lime pie made with lime zest incorporated into the filling is heavenly. Enjoy it while limes still exist. As slices of summer go, perhaps only second to a slice of sun-warmed heirloom tomato with a sprinkle of flaky salt.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:54 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Fortune cookies for California? Somewhat disappointing.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:59 PM on September 12, 2022 [17 favorites]

I feel like CA (fortune cookies ???), CO (hot chocolate) and NJ (salt water taffy) really got the shaft here.

None of those are "desserts," much less BEST desserts.
posted by emjaybee at 2:00 PM on September 12, 2022 [21 favorites]

I imagine when they chose California's there was a ton of cackling, like... seriously?

Pennsylvania: ew. Shoo-fly pie is gross. Water ice is the only acceptable answer.
posted by rhymedirective at 2:01 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

New Hampshire checks out (cider donuts).
posted by Daily Alice at 2:01 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Usually I get annoyed when DC is left off these lists. But for desserts... well, we got nothing (that we haven't stolen from one of the 50 states). Though maybe we can adopt and slightly rename Oregon's Marionberry Pie.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:01 PM on September 12, 2022 [13 favorites]

I would like some of each of these, please.

(Well, maybe not the lime jello salad. I mean, I'd have a small bite to be polite, but I am much more of a giant-slice-of-cake person, myself.)

It's a little disappointing to see California just get fortune cookies. Huh.

I don't think I've eaten more than a handful of these, and almost none of them in their famed state. (I have had brownies in Illinois. But brownies are common pretty much everywhere.)

It's interesting to contemplate how hard it is to try each of these without either travelling quite a ways or trying to make the thing yourself. In many good-size US cities, it's pretty easy to find food from all over the world - China, Thailand, Mexico, Ethiopia, Burma, Peru - but much harder to find US regional foods. And the US is huge, so it would take days and weeks to sample Lane Cake and nutmeg cookies and zeppole and scotcheroos and bananas Foster and biscochitos and nanaimo bars.

It's a delightful trek to dream about, though. (Sounds like a trip for Wordshore, actually.)

This is a lovely celebration of regional traditions and a delicious distraction for a Monday. Thank you so much for posting it, sciatrix!
posted by kristi at 2:05 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

Fortune cookies for California? Somewhat disappointing.

Has anyone ever had a fortune cookie that actually tastes good? I have had them in CA and they are the same as anywhere else - fun to crack open and get a message out of, but not fun to eat.

The ice cream potato looks the coolest to me. Never even heard of it.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:07 PM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]

It's nice they admit that they are totally phoning in Alaska
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:26 PM on September 12, 2022 [9 favorites]

Great listicle, thanks! Lots of new things to explore. But...

Fortune cookies for California? Somewhat disappointing.

I was glad the It's It wasn't nominated. (Not that I'd refuse ice cream, or chocolate-covered, or an ice cream sandwich; but making the thing with an oatmeal cookie? No thanks.)

Though maybe we can adopt and slightly rename Oregon's Marionberry Pie.

A huge oversight, or information gap, while Hizzoner was Mayor. We should have had Marion Berry pies available at every bakery, but I never heard of this fruit until after I'd evacuated DC.

And if all they've got in Utah is green Jell-O, they really need an upgrade. Like to that delicious Watergate 'Salad' I had in Kansas.
posted by Rash at 2:30 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

For me California could have been See's Candy.
posted by chavenet at 2:30 PM on September 12, 2022 [12 favorites]

As a Wyoming native, I can say that I've never had anyone serve me "cowboy cookies" and call them that.
posted by spindrifter at 2:32 PM on September 12, 2022

Washington: Nanaimo bars

What? Surely Washington can muster something other than a beloved Canadian dessert?
posted by Ashwagandha at 2:32 PM on September 12, 2022 [19 favorites]

Usually I get annoyed when DC is left off these lists. But for desserts... well, we got nothing

After-dinner jumbo slice could be considered a cheese course, IMO
posted by Maecenas at 2:35 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Isn’t this a double? I could have sworn I did a huge gripe about Indiana=Sugar Cream Pie in another thread about the same article.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:38 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

New Hampshire checks out (cider donuts).

As a born and bred New Englander, this could have gone to Vermont, Maine or Mass as well.

In all cases, the absolute best way to eat these is when they're made fresh right in front of you and handed over in a brown paper bag where the oil seeps through just a bit and that first bite is just slightly too hot so you wash it down with some cold unfiltered apple cider as the brisk October breeze is blowing leaves around and then you have another bite and now there's a crispness to the outside and the center is hot pillowy and the cinnamon sugar is sticking to your fingers and lips and so you have another swig of cider and all is right with the world.

...or so I've been told.
posted by jeremias at 2:40 PM on September 12, 2022 [23 favorites]

Regarding key lime pie: I've started straining the filling mix (lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, egg yolks) after letting it sit for 15 minutes or so to get all of the little zest strips out of the pie. I tried all kind of things (food processing the sweetened condensed milk with the zest, manually chopping the zest into teeny pieces) to get the little bits of zest to incorporate into the pie, and I just don't think it can be done. With that said, the lime zing of the pie seems a lot better balanced now that I strain out the zest. Before there was too much lime flavor to the point where it got overwhelming. Plus straining seems to make the filling very smooth.

Oh and baking the pie until the filling is firm but a bit jiggly still I know is forbidden by some key lime pie purists, but it really does make for a better overall flavor. Plus you don't have to worry about killing Aunt Katie with egg-borne salmonella.

fwiw, straining cheesecake batter through a fine mesh strainer makes that dessert even smoother and creamier too.
posted by ensign_ricky at 2:43 PM on September 12, 2022

For me California could have been See's Candy.

Yes. Or perhaps just a chilled, fresh-picked in-season naval orange.
posted by Rash at 2:43 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

Isn’t this a double?

Other travelers have made this journey before.
posted by box at 2:44 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's nice they admit that they are totally phoning in Alaska

That's about how I feel about my home state of Montana. I don't think we deserve s'mores, which are way more universal. But I don't know what to propose instead and a s'more-filled camping trip into our mountain wilds would be a great way to enjoy what we have to offer. Maybe every state worth camping in (which is most of them TBH) can take turns?
posted by traveler_ at 2:45 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Hah, even a shout out for wet-bottom vs dry-bottom shoo-fly pie. Well-researched article.
posted by rouftop at 2:50 PM on September 12, 2022

After seeing Alaska and California, I was expecting every state to be a troll post, and scrolled to my own state of Kansas and saw it. While its status as "desert" is questionable, pfeffernussen is the only family recipe I know of, so on a very micro level, they got one at least.
posted by pwnguin at 2:55 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

I really want an ice cream potato.
posted by pmdboi at 3:05 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

It's luckily not made with possums.

Well, that's what they tell those big-city reporters.
posted by gimonca at 3:06 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

I can’t complain about zeppole in RI, although a) it’s very seasonal and b) most of the ones I’ve seen are more eclair-shaped, but, eh. Similarly, I might have gone for stollen for Wisconsin, but I can’t really fault kringle.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:09 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Idaho Ice Cream Potato is notable in that the novelty is entirely in the presentation - it's otherwise a perfectly normal ice cream sundae.
posted by Hatashran at 3:11 PM on September 12, 2022

Fortune cookies for California? Somewhat disappointing.

It is, though as a Bay Area person I must admit I have a pretty clear memory of visiting a fortune cookie factory on a field trip that was also featured on Sesame Street I think? That was fun.

Still, I would submit ITS-IT ice cream sandwiches. I prefer the CHIPS-IT variety, but I think the standard oatmeal is kinda what makes it distinctive.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 3:12 PM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]

Once again checking in to report that, having grown up in Mississippi, I have never really seen the eponymous mud pie to be much of a thing. Mostly I see it in nice box mixes made to give as gifts, and very occasionally on a restaurant menu. Mainly, though, what people make and want are Southern desserts seen in other states: banana pudding, lemon icebox pie, coconut cake, etc. The difference is that someone can always tell you the little store with the lady who makes it the best, and it always is the best. (The ladies retired in my hometown, sadly.)
posted by Countess Elena at 3:13 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

My Nana from Georgia used to make something very like the Smith Island cake from the Maryland entry, only she called it "14-layer cake". (It only ever had 9 or 10 layers, because a few always got ruined in the process or Nana got tired - "14-layer" was an aspiration, not a description.) Tiny!me really enjoyed laying a slice flat on my plate and then eating it slowly, layer by layer, from the bottom up. It's one of my favorite childhood dessert memories.

Alas, she has now passed away and no one left in my family is a patient enough baker to make it, so I haven't had one for years. Now I miss my Nana.
posted by darchildre at 3:24 PM on September 12, 2022 [7 favorites]

I mean there’s no doubting that saltwater taffy is deeply associated with NJ. You learn about how it was created there as part of the obligatory NJ history unit in elementary school, you can buy it at every sweet shop down the store, people are forever bringing boxes of it back to the office after shore vacations. But I can’t say I honestly know many people who genuinely like it, let alone anyone who’s identify it as the best of the state. You eat some if it’s there, but no one’s tremendously excited for it. Most iconic and tastiest aren’t necessarily the same thing.

For an actual tastiest NJ confection, I would nominate either a cobbler made with fresh-picked height of the season blueberries or something Italian, probably a cannoli.
posted by ActionPopulated at 3:24 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

Today, nutmeg is no longer grown or produced in Connecticut. But the nickname remains, along with some cookie recipes.

Oh, for-

Nutmeg is tropical (Indonesia, India), it has never been grown in Connecticut.

Traded, yes. Good money in nutmeg. The moniker (allegedly) comes from a short story (The Preacher Who Wandered From His Text) by a Canadian writer who described a New England sea captain who sold barrels half full of real nutmeg, half with wooden fakes. (The captain was said to be from Nahant, Mass., which doesn't improve the situation.)

I know it's only a clickbait listicle, but come on, a little professionalism here.
posted by BWA at 3:31 PM on September 12, 2022 [17 favorites]

Ctrl + F. NO BUTTER MOCHI???????? I mean shave ice is awesome and I miss living within walking distance of Waiola's, but I guess I had implicitly defined dessert as something you could sell at a bake sale.
posted by spamandkimchi at 3:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

Finally, the excuse I've been searching for to visit Idaho.
posted by jy4m at 3:44 PM on September 12, 2022

It's luckily not made with possums.

Well, that's what they tell those big-city reporters.

If it's any consolation, Arkansas will, with great regional pride and tradition, feed you raccoon.
posted by box at 3:46 PM on September 12, 2022

But I can’t say I honestly know many people who genuinely like it (ed: salt water taffy), let alone anyone who’s identify it as the best of the state.

I genuinely like it, but I also associate it with Cape Cod.
posted by Ruki at 3:46 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

I'm curious about what happened with Arizona and New Mexico. I'm not really upset about biscochitos for NM but was expecting sopapillas. Does Arizona really have no other dessert to offer than something the article admits is much more associated with New Mexico?

The biscochitos in that picture have a fully insane amount of sugar on them.
posted by Missense Mutation at 3:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

This list chose ~violence~.

And I approve.

Also I am cackling so hard that for Arizona they came up so empty handed that they were like yeah, so this is a New Mexico thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I would also like to submit that surely Colorado has something other than hot chocolate! I am hoping a Coloradan stops in to tell us what it shoulda been.

And how did they skip Louisiana’s most iconic dessert!!

Truly, this list is the pinnacle of clickbait and it’s beautiful.
posted by Bottlecap at 3:53 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

Re: Maine. Whoopie pies are kind of gross. I loved getting chocolate donuts on visits to Maine as a kid, now they're more widespread, but def. Maine-specific. Or apple pie with ice cream.
posted by theora55 at 4:15 PM on September 12, 2022

As an outside observer, the Maryland Smith Island Cake is the one that appeals. I would also risk the Buckeyes and the Bourbon balls, with scant regard for medical advice. The more well known ones miss out on making the list due to the absence of novelty and openness to wanting to try pretty much all cakes. In reality, I could most likely do a whole cheesecake in the style of the kid in Matilda with the chocolate cake.
posted by biffa at 4:20 PM on September 12, 2022

“I'm curious about what happened with Arizona and New Mexico. I'm not really upset about biscochitos for NM but was expecting sopapillas.”

In New Mexico, sopaipillas aren't a dessert. They are served with the meal and aren't powdered with sugar, though they are served with butter and honey (on the side).

Surrounding states think sopaipillas are a dessert, but they're confused. And whatever is pictured in the photo isn't any kind of sopaipillas I've ever seen, even in Texas.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:23 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

(Though I see you're here in ABQ, so I guess you already know all this.)
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:24 PM on September 12, 2022

Eh, I don't know about sugar cream pie for Indiana. I would have gone with persimmon pudding.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:32 PM on September 12, 2022

The actual Alaska dessert is akutaq. Basically whipped oil and berries. The version I had was crisco/blueberry.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_ice_cream
posted by kerf at 4:38 PM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]

Minnesota’s had to be a bar of some sort, and seven-layer is the best of those, so I approve.

Oh, but poor Utah. I feel bad for them.
posted by cinnamonduff at 4:39 PM on September 12, 2022

I would also like to submit that surely Colorado has something other than hot chocolate! I am hoping a Coloradan stops in to tell us what it shoulda been.

I dunno, last time I remember seeing one a listicle to this effect, Colorado got saddled with the "cowboy cookies," which no one ever seems to admit to ever having seen under that name in the wild. I'm forced to assume that Colorado's wellness craze have driven its regional dessert traditions into obscurity.

(spamandkimchi, my current supervisor is from Hawaii originally and recently introduced the lab to the mochi doughnuts sold by a bakery up the street. She says the texture is roughly comparable to butter mochi? Anyway they are good.)
posted by sciatrix at 4:39 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

There is a shop in San Francisco that makes and sells fortune cookies in a not-folded form, and you can get big stacks of them. Those cookies are ridiculously good and a worthy inclusion into the cookie pantheon.
posted by hototogisu at 4:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

As a lifelong Washingtonian I think Nanaimo bars are a pretty weak (if delicious) entry. I hereby nominate the glorious Huckleberry Slump (also acceptably delicious in blueberry or marionberry varieties).

Slumps are the kind of desert you only encounter in season, in old fashioned diners or restaurants or in people's homes. They are messy and egalitarian and the ideal thing to do with a bunch of freshly picked berries. I've also never, ever encountered or heard of one outside of Washington or Oregon.

I will accept recommendations for any other deserts I can locally review.
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 4:53 PM on September 12, 2022 [10 favorites]

In all cases, the absolute best way to eat these is when they're made fresh right in front of you and handed over in a brown paper bag where the oil seeps through just a bit and that first bite is just slightly too hot so you wash it down with some cold unfiltered apple cider as the brisk October breeze is blowing leaves around and then you have another bite and now there's a crispness to the outside and the center is hot pillowy and the cinnamon sugar is sticking to your fingers and lips and so you have another swig of cider and all is right with the world.

I am going to be visiting my parents in New Hampshire this October (flying in from Key Lime Pie Land) and I plan to do just exactly that.
posted by Daily Alice at 5:07 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

S'mores are a pick from someone who has never been to Montana. A far better choice would be huckleberry pie. Huckleberries has never been domesticated, so anyone who can gather enough for a pie really knows their territory.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:21 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

That’s fine but this North Carolinian is sticking with Atlantic Beach Pie, thanks
posted by thivaia at 5:29 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

I would also like to submit that surely Colorado has something other than hot chocolate! I am hoping a Coloradan stops in to tell us what it shoulda been.

I've lived in Colorado most of my life, and my family goes back a generation or three. And like, I'm really struggling to come up with a dessert for us. I mean, if I'm being honest, the desert that ties most strongly with my sense of the place is a malt and Andy's mints from a chain of burger places in Colorado Springs that's been closed for a decade or so. But that's not really one I'd pick for the whole state.

Alternately, maybe THIS is finally the article for that pizza place that was mentioned in the "regional styles of pizza" that serves the pizza crust with honey.

Oh Wait! What about Beer floats? That could be our thing. Let's say that's our thing.
posted by Gygesringtone at 5:31 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm probably about to say a lot of blasphemous stuff about key lime pie, but anyway, it's my husband's favorite. Before we were married and I really wanted to impress him I bought the key limes and zested and juiced those little fuckers. Used a basic recipe but ALWAYS replaced the graham crackers with biscoff cookies.
Eventually moved on to bottled key lime juice (bc I'd married him and those fuckers are tiny) and an epicurious recipe that recommends adding some lemon juice bc as everyone knows, key limes are terrible. Still stuck with that biscoff crust.
This year went with this very highly rated, but suspect recipe (because of that Greek yogurt and .....only regular fresh limes), but it was, according to my husband and guests, the best yet. Still made it with a biscoff crust.
posted by atomicstone at 5:44 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

Train of thought transcription:

This is amazing

Ice cream potato?!?

Oh TG there’s no actual potato involved

Nj is salt water taffy, approved.

WA - I have never seen a Nanaimo bar in Seattle. Never.
posted by bq at 5:59 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

So.. I grew up in Michigan and have long lived in Alaska and I can tell you that:

• Michiganders make fudge to sell to tourists (derisively referred to as "fudgies" in the areas where the most fudge is produced) and not particularly for consumption by locals. I mean.. don't let that stop you, it's still a highly edible concoction of sugar, butter, and chocolate or other flavor, but it is really not deserving of designation as the state's best dessert.
• I've lived in Alaska for more than fifteen years and I have never seen or even heard of anyone serving Baked Alaska here. And that's not even getting into the fact that the name has been coopted by a neo-fascist idiot influencer. Choose again.

posted by Nerd of the North at 6:06 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thanks, atomicstone! We were talking about key lime pies this morning at work, and someone mentioned the yogurt recipe, and I was about to search for it.

Tennessee should complain! I mean, I'll eat a moonpie, but it's a mass-produced product. It's like saying some state's dessert is the twinkie.

In Michigan, they gave you the low road (fudge) or the high road (cherries), and we really do eat that lime jello thing, but I think our real dessert is apple crisp.

As a current resident of Maryland, I rarely see Smith Island cakes in real life (although they are lovely when you can find them).
posted by acrasis at 6:08 PM on September 12, 2022

WA - I have never seen a Nanaimo bar in Seattle. Never.

Really? Because I first became aware of their existence when I lived in Seattle for a few years.

I would agree, though, that they are not the state dessert of Washington. The official state dessert of Washington should be something that looks really delicious but which has been ruined by the maker insisting on loading it with completely unnecessary coffee flavoring.
posted by Nerd of the North at 6:09 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

As a Georgian (for now), my reaction was basically:

(1) what the hell? Who ever heard of Delaware peaches?
(2) *goes down a few states*
(3) okay, they can have pie if we get cobbler.

The thing is, I hadn’t heard of Delaware peaches, but I am from Philadelphia originally and I am aware that both Pennsylvania and New Jersey grow peaches so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
posted by madcaptenor at 6:21 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

Has anyone ever had a fortune cookie that actually tastes good?

Yes, but it was still just a somewhat decent cookie. Not even in the top ten of cookies, much less any "absolute best" dessert.
posted by Foosnark at 6:33 PM on September 12, 2022

This Virginian reports having never heard of this Chess Pie thing in my life.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:29 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Colorado dessert for the whole state is gorp. Just fyi.
posted by susiswimmer at 7:34 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Nobody got sponge candy, which was one of my favorite food experiences in Buffalo. Wikipedia says it it exists in a few northern states.
posted by anhedonic at 7:45 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

I can’t complain about zeppole in RI, although a) it’s very seasonal

When I was a kid in the 80’s, The Wizard of Oz came on tv once a year and it was a Big Fucking Deal. And that’s how zeppoles are still. Every March, the whole damn state goes zeppole crazy. I don’t even like them, but I appreciate how the limited timeframe increases their appeal.

But if we want to talk about a year-round treat, 20 years ago, when I lived off Route 2, there was this little hole in the wall bakery next to a gas station on 117 that had the best cannolis. We’d bribe our friends to babysit infant Kid Ruki with those cannolis.
posted by Ruki at 7:56 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

If Colorado gets assigned hot chocolate, I think we honestly have to assign Pumpkin Spice Latte to California in the name of justice.
posted by pwnguin at 8:23 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

My Connecticut nutmeg gripe has already been mentioned. Grown? No. Counterfeited. Yes.
Also this article kinda calls Pennsylvania part of New England?

There is a shocking lack of ice cream on this list overall.
posted by janell at 9:22 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

I double dog claim apple pie for Washington.
posted by away for regrooving at 10:01 PM on September 12, 2022

Yeah Nanaimo bars obviously belong to B.C. I nominate Aplets and Cotlets, which maybe technically are just Turkish delights but are so much better than any others that I have had.
posted by St. Oops at 10:23 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

CO should claim weed gummies.
posted by emjaybee at 10:28 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

This Virginian reports having never heard of this Chess Pie thing in my life.

I lived in Arlington for three years, mid-90s, and somehow got wind of Chess Pie at that time. Spotted slices from one among the desserts at a cafeteria (but I think that was in New Jersey) and I had an old pie-specific cookbook I found somewhere then, and I actually baked a chess pie a couple times. It's like pecan pie without any pecans.
posted by Rash at 10:31 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Chess pie is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.
posted by Bottlecap at 10:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Here we are commenting on a listicle.

There are a lot of sweet potatoes in North Carolina. But the pie is very seasonal.

Atlantic Beach Pie is fairly confined to Chapel Hill and even the the one place that serves it has been out of commission for awhile (though may be coming back).

But the dessert everyone clamors for here is 'nana
puddin'. It's like a side dish for BBQ. It comes in both bowls and trays.
posted by 3.2.3 at 1:55 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]

So many better options than fudge for Michigan. I nominate cherry pie, since MI grows most of the pie cherries in the country, and cherry pie is delicious.
posted by rockindata at 3:44 AM on September 13, 2022

MetaFilter: a shocking lack of ice cream
posted by chavenet at 3:54 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Funnel cake for Pa. would have been a far more likely and delicious choice.
posted by rudster at 4:24 AM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

Seconding 3.2.3's observation about NC and banana pudding -- it is ubiquitous and beloved here. I absolutely cannot stand the stuff, but it's by far the dessert most representative of the state.
posted by fikri at 5:30 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

A fried pie for Oklahoma is definitely right. Well documented in the Hosty Duo song. Ardmore and 35.
posted by Quonab at 6:26 AM on September 13, 2022

Honestly I don't think seven layer bars are especially Minnesotan. My family, with zero connections to Minnesota, made them regularly when I was growing up.

The best Minnesota dessert is apple cider donuts - that is, apple cider donuts are widely available in the fall here, they are understood as a thing, you have to make an effort to get them either at a small independent shop or at an orchard. This would not fit with the "one characteristic dessert per state" rule of these articles, but it would more accurately reflect reality.

If one were to select a Minnesota bar, I think it would need to be one with jello, cool-whip or cream cheese involved. The most characteristic Minnesotan dessert I've ever had was the bars that my college made back before they outsourced the food and fired most of the staff (I actually told them that they would never get a dime of sweet alumni money from me for that and the accompanying restructure and they miraculously took me off the donor list). Anyway, the point is that the bars had some kind of graham-ish crust, two different layers of jello-wth-cool-whip, one of which had more jello and one of which had more cool whip, and a layer of cool whip itself plus some kind of streusel topping. They were absolutely phenomenal and may even have been unique to the school since our kitchen staff, though limited by tight budgets and a general Minnesotan quality to the cuisine, did make some unique stuff.
posted by Frowner at 6:44 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

The thing about banana pudding is that it's not a dessert, it's a vegetable. Don't believe me? Go to the style of North Carolina restaurant known as a "meat and three", where you get to choose a meat and three vegetables for your lunch, look at the side of the menu headed "Vegetables", and you will often see banana pudding, along with macaroni-and-cheese, and Jell-O.
posted by Daily Alice at 6:45 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Hard to argue with Smith Island Cake for Maryland (it is tasty), but I would say that Berger Cookies are more iconic.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 7:02 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Smith Island Cake is as least the OFFICIAL MARYLAND STATE DESSERT. I keep meaning to make it and then....forgetting.
posted by atomicstone at 7:32 AM on September 13, 2022

I didn't know that brownies were invented in Chicago, but I did get my favorite brownie recipe from the Chicago Tribune about forty years ago, so that tracks.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:38 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

What cake does every grandma bring to church potlucks, wedding showers, and funeral receptions in Mississippi? It is not the Mud Cake, it is the Caramel Cake.
posted by gordie at 8:04 AM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

It is not the Mud Cake, it is the Caramel Cake.

Or divinity (aka divinity fudge). At least in the part of the state I grew up in.

I was actually sure Mississippi was going to be pecan pie, and I'm glad it's not. I love pecans, and I love pie, but pecan pie at its best is ... ok. (Sorry not sorry Texas.) Tbh, I kinda feel the same way about caramel cakes and divinity.

Mud pie is a pretty good choice though!
posted by solotoro at 8:25 AM on September 13, 2022

Washington's best dessert is the coconut cream pie at Dahlia Bakery, followed by the amazing peach pie I had this weekend at the Cama Beach Café.

(Also, why Washington hasn't embraced the apple cider donut is a mystery to me. Come on! We have great apples! We have great donuts! It's time to form Donut Voltron and unite these two great things!)
posted by RakDaddy at 9:45 AM on September 13, 2022

Coloradan, and general intermountain west human, here. This list should have been, "What states have a regional dessert?" There are regional seasonal fruits and berries here and there, but there's nothing out here that screams "Colorado!", "Idaho!", "Montana!", etc. That's just not who we are. Even the Utah thing is wrong. Green Jello is a salad, not as dessert. Sorry.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 10:15 AM on September 13, 2022

It's a real shame marionberries don't ship well; I have no special fondness for them but the puns and jokes are great. However, I've only ever seen them in Oregon and Washington.

Someone's probably trying to breed a more transport-friendly marionberry, and it will be utterly terrible, like out-of-state strawberries or peaches.
posted by kkar at 10:36 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Nanaimo bars aren't in any way American, no matter how close Washington is to the border.
posted by Kitteh at 10:51 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

*grumble* *grumble* fucking BUCKEYES *mutter* *grumble*
posted by cooker girl at 11:43 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Also the Indiana dessert should be persimmon pudding, the queen of midwestern desserts. You need to use American persimmons for the full experience - Asian persimmons travel better and have many fine qualities, but the taste and texture are different.
posted by Frowner at 12:02 PM on September 13, 2022

I didn't know that brownies were invented in Chicago, but I did get my favorite brownie recipe from the Chicago Tribune about forty years ago, so that tracks.

I guess I don't doubt the Illinois invention-of-brownies story or anything, but ...not only do brownies feel like one of the most nationwide-nondescript desserts, they also don't have any particular Illinois representation. Like, there's no "good brownie place" that everyone has to try here. You get brownies everywhere and also nowhere and they're all FINE.

That said I am hard-pressed to identify what our actual state dessert would be. Rainbow Cone? Sweet corn ice cream? The only distinctive dessert of my childhood here was probably Ambrosia Salad but again, seems doubtful that that is Illinois-specific rather than just a midwestern mid-century staple.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:13 PM on September 13, 2022

I'm not a cake fan and even less of a brownie fan. I feel a bit bad for Illinois getting such a boring option. But then North Dakota gets lefse - as a dessert? I mean yes we Minnesotan neighbors sprinkle sugar on it after buttering, but that's like saying toast is a dessert.
posted by soelo at 12:18 PM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

On second thought, cancel my whingeing about California and fortune cookies. The fact that they picked shaved ice over malasadas with coconut filing for Hawaii is the worst kind of travesty. How dare they.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:11 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

as a Brit, I have no inside knowledge here, but I was rather impressed by how tasty these look, and I'm tempted to try making some of them myself. Except for one, that is - what the hell, Utah? It's like the opposite of all that weird stuff from the state fairs.
posted by Fuchsoid at 2:19 PM on September 13, 2022

Pffftttt. Brownies belong to everyone, drinks are NOT a dessert nor are candies; and as a kid in California I sampled pretty much everything on that list, because everyone moves there and brings their recipes using marshmallow fluff and corn syrup and crushed crackers and pudding mix and whatever nuts and chocolate substance they can find.
California should be strawberry pie, for the fantastic strawberries {that used to be} grown by Japanese truck farmers up and down the state.
Michigan tart cherries are wonderful and it seems I missed them again this year.
What, no Paczki?
Baked Alaska for Alaska is just lame, dudes.
posted by winesong at 2:51 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Reported and researched by email or text? Pathetic.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:58 PM on September 13, 2022

My grandma in Ohio (with no ties to Utah that I know of) made a green jello salad that was delicious... definitely more dessert-like than salad-like. Made with lemon and lime jello, mayo, cream cheese, crushed pineapple and nuts, it was intensely fruity, sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy all at the same time. It was the thing we all looked for on the Christmas dessert table. Sadly, grandma passed a few years ago and while I have the recipe, mine didn't turn out quite the same. Maybe I'll try again this year.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:07 PM on September 13, 2022

Wow this post has inspired some iffy takes.

This California born mefite feels the need to straighten out some things.
1. Fortune cookies are definitely a dessert - as in a sweet thing one eats at the end of the meal. The factory hot ones are okay but I don’t know anyone who would actively choose to order one. Their general mediocrity is made plain by the fact that they come free, no one’s ordering them.

2. It’s its are a gem. A rare truly (sub)regional food that have survived the passage of time and fame without any sacrifice in quality. The oatmeal cookie hate is misplaced, the its it cookie is perfection. Only issue I have is the pumpkin flavor introduction which was a miss for me. Not a suitable choice for state dessert for two reasons:
-hyper regional. They are an SF food not a California food, and
-not a dessert. See my view on fortune cookies above. Dessert = something sweet served after a meal. It’s its are a sweet snack, something to get at the corner store after school or on the way home from the bar.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:31 PM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

It's its are indeed phenomenal, the main flavors are perfect (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint, cappuccino). The limited edition flavors are usually good. Not sure I'd like pumpkin either, but I think there was a strawberry mint briefly.
posted by BrotherCaine at 8:48 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

I've been wracking my brain for better CA specific desserts. Chiffon cake is the only other one to come to mind.
posted by BrotherCaine at 8:50 PM on September 13, 2022

Virginia back. Granny always had a The BEST Pound Cake Recipe in the South. That one is pretty close, maybe a little bit fluffier, probably the Baking Powder. If there wasn't a cake around a new cake would be made. Standard desert and snack. If a bit fancier or once in a while, it had the Caramel coating. It lived in the same cake Tupperware thing on the counter, and even had its own knife that was so old and so resharpened that it's only about 1/4" tall. Then in season there would be fruit pies of whatever. Or toast with Apple Butter (they made this outside in a big witch's cauldron sort of thing over a fire.) Occasional brownies or fudge.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:25 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

As a resident of Tennessee, I object to the Moon Pie. Not to its existence, but to its inclusion here. It's a packaged snack cake not a proper dessert, and not something you can really make at home.

I would suggest Hummingbird Cake as a local favorite, though I don't think it has any specific ties to the Volunteer State.
posted by workerant at 4:07 AM on September 14, 2022

You get brownies everywhere and also nowhere and they're all FINE.

Oh, but some are much, much finer than others. Here's the recipe, try it if you've a mind to.

2 squares unsweetened baker's chocolate
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs, gradually beat in sugar, chocolate/butter, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and blend well. Add nuts if you're using them. Grease 8X8 pan and pour in the batter, bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:11 AM on September 14, 2022

Googling says the hot fudge sundae was invented in Los Angeles .

C C Brown's is long gone but one can still get the sundae at Lawry's owned restaurants and I've seen the sauce at Gelson's market in LA.
posted by brujita at 9:16 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Biscochitos for New Mexico is spot on because cookies with lard and anise are delicious and on brand.

But sopapillas are not a dessert and not even available in Arizona. What is it with neighboring states appropriating New Mexico things? Chile, sopas. Stop it!

But honestly.... I have no idea what would be specifically Arizona. I think of Arizona as a white state full of white transplants from the Midwest.... including me, at one time.
posted by answergrape at 10:57 AM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

I feel like you could give frybread to Arizona.
posted by box at 11:24 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Frybread is not a dessert to me. Just like toast and lefse, it can be part of a dessert but they are used in savory dishes as much or more and so don't really fit the definition.
posted by soelo at 12:37 PM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

Frybread is definitely not a dessert.
posted by Bottlecap at 1:04 PM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

It’s its are a gem

Yeah, I really didn’t expect the shit talk about Its-Its. As packaged ice cream treats go they’re quite good, if a bit much.
posted by atoxyl at 1:24 PM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

“Georgia: Peach Cobbler.”

Okay, this list checks out.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:46 AM on September 15, 2022

I have always been intrigued by the name Gooey Butter Cake and today I got some at White Castle. It comes on a little stick and is refrigerated, so probably not the most authentic version. But for a fast food dessert, it was pretty great!
posted by soelo at 8:52 PM on September 15, 2022 [1 favorite]