October 14th, 2016 is National Dessert Day.
As author Sarah Ockler so eloquently put, “I’ve never met a problem a proper cupcake couldn’t fix.” I’d be hardpressed to find a more universal truth, especially in the increasingly divisive society we live in today. But if there’s one thing you can almost guarantee to bring people together, it’s dessert. Be it bake sales for charity, cakewalks for fundraisers, or the fact that every social gathering usually revolved around some kind of sweet (would you even go to a birthday party if there wasn’t cake involved?), it’s pretty clear that dessert is quintessential to our way of life. Almost every culture out there has there own special way of getting their sugar fix (baklavas, churros, macarons, etc.), but Americans have taken the dessert game to a whole new level. I mean, we are the country that came up with apple pie and pretty much have a trademark on chocolate chip cookies. You don’t mess with Americans and dessert (the rising obesity levels are there to prove it).
Slate.com put together a great article called the “United Sweets of America”–Illinois got dibs on brownies, which debuted for the first time ever at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Funnel cake’s more indigenous cousin, sopaipilla, is home to New Mexico and typically served drizzled with honey. Though red velvet cake, arguably the most “it” dessert of the moment, was invented at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, the state of Arkansas lays claim to it thanks to Steel Magnolias and the school colors of the University of Arkansas. Some are more obvious–Georgia gets peach cobbler; Massachusetts, Boston cream pie; Michigan, fudge (if you’ve ever been to Mackinac Island you know what I’m talking about); but if you’re wondering which state is lucky enough to have s’mores as their state sweet, it’s Montana. Hey, at least we didn’t get stuck with popcorn balls like Nebraska (does that even count as a dessert?!). If you’re wondering where the rest of the 50 states fall, be sure to check out the article–there’s even an interactive map.
I’m a firm believer that it’s the little things in life that make it all worth it, and sometimes that little thing might be a slice of Bent Fork cake after dinner, or a piece of good Ghirardelli chocolate with lunch. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of sugar to make your day a whole lot better.
