Gwinnett Magazine has dug through the snow (aka the internet) to bring you the tastiest holiday-themed treats around. We’ve created a list with the fast food features, grocery store gems and more for this holiday season. So while visions of sugar plums dance in your head, here are some foods you can have on your plate!
What’s the holiday season (or any season, really?) without coffee that’s themed, brewed and served in a red cup. Starbucks brought back the fan favorites this year, featuring the classic Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee and Toasted White Chocolate. Also gracing the menu is the Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte which appeared in 2021 and the Irish Cream Cold Brew which was created in 2019.
Did you know that you can order a peppermint mocha all year round? If you aren’t a coffee fan, we recommend asking for a black and white hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint. And a cranberry bliss bar on the side.
Donut worry, Dunkin’ has peppermint mocha coffee too. The Peppermint Mocha Signature Latte gets a dusting of hot chocolate powder on top! If you’re a white chocolate lover, the Toasted white Chocolate Signature Latte gets a dusting of cinnamon sugar and caramel drizzle. These coffees pair well with the seasonal cookie butter donut. You can also try the cookie butter cold brew that comes with cookie butter crumbles.
Peppermint doesn’t stop at coffee. It’s Chick-fil-A’s pleasure to bring you the Peppermint Milkshake, featuring chips of peppermint bark, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. This Christmas in a cup dessert first showed up on menus in 2008 and has been brought back by popular demand every year since then.
According to the chicken sandwich connoisseur, more Peppermint Chip Milkshakes were ordered in 2021 than any previous year. Chick-fil-A also brings back the chicken tortilla soup, for when you’re hungry but if it’s feeling a bit to frosty for peppermint…
Can’t get enough of frosted peppermint flavors? Get frosty with Wendy’s new peppermint treat. This frosty is new to the lineup, coming after the strawberry frosty that was featured this past summer.
Santa’s favorite treats aren’t cookies this year! The best of Christmas sweets can be found in the new Santa’s Bake Shop Collection at Krispy Kreme, with four scrumptious doughnuts approved by the Big Man himself.
Holiday Sugar Cookie Doughnut – An Original Glazed® doughnut iced with sugar cookie flavored icing and topped with a festive sugar and sprinkle blend.
Gingerbread Cookie Crumb Doughnut – A doughnut filled with gingerbread cream cheese flavored filling, dipped in white icing, topped with gingerbread cookie crumbs and holiday sprinkle blend, and drizzled with gingerbread flavored icing.
Red Velvet Cake Doughnut – A glazed red velvet cake doughnut topped with cream cheese icing and red velvet cake crumbles.
Santa Belly Doughnut – A fan favorite filled with Kreme™, dipped in red icing, and decorated like the Big Guy with icing and a belt buckle sugar piece.
I’m dreaming of a Winter White Chocolate Christmas…. That’s right, the flavor is home for the holidays. First introduced in 1985, Winter White Chocolate features Wintery White Chocolate flavored Ice Cream with a flurry of Chocolate flavored Coated Cherry Pieces and Cherry Swirls. It chocolate cherry to the merry extreme.
While we can’t promise they’ll have the flavor you want by the time you get there (due to their ever changing weekly menu), Crumbl is also featuring some holiday inspired flavors. In 2021, flavors such as eggnog, gingersnap, hot chocolate, Christmas birthday cake and more graced the menu during December.
As of this week, ‘gingerbread cake’ and ‘lemon crinkle’ are what’s being served.
Gingerbread is a popular flavor in all genres of food. If you’re feeling jolly at brunch time, First Watch has got gingerbread donuts that might do the trick. These donut holes are served with an icing and a salted caramel sauce to dip those donuts in. To drink, try the cranberry crush juice. Cranberry, fuji apple, cinnamon, lemon and can sugar and stirred together to create a holiday sip to go with your meal.
Speaking of festive flavors to start your day, General Mills has brought back some of it’s Christmas cereals.
Rudolph’s cereal is hot cocoa flavored with marshmallows in fun shapes.
The Elf on the Shelf has three varieties: the sugar cookie, the hot cocoa and the snow creme.
