While winter officially begins this week, as always the season is late to the party when it comes to the holidays. Indeed, while the first dustings of snow help to set the mood, there are any number of other earlier manifestations that help confirm where we are in the calendar. Your neighbor down the street has inflated their blow-up snowman. Your email box is filled with offers for the perfect gift. And most significantly, Amazon has extended their return window until the end of January. By any measure, whether you celebrate Kwanza, Chanukah, Christmas or any other seasonal festivities, it's that time of year when lights going on and off are assumed not to be flickering but rather twinkling.
And it also means it's time for all the food chains in your life to trot out their special type of holiday cheer. For sure they have sales and coupons to entice you to stop by with family and friends. But many have once-a-year special concoctions that reflect the trappings of the season. That's not to say that you wouldn't enjoy sprinkles in July or white chocolate in August. Rather, the odds of finding a Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino or similar are much higher come December.
And what's seasonal specialties are on the menu this year? If you are in the mood for pancakes with a decidedly winter accent, head to IHOP. There you can order their Winter Wonderland Pancakes in short stack or tall. It's four of their classic buttermilk pancakes, but topped with blue vanilla swirl icing, mini marshmallows, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Doesn't really taste any different the usual fare doused with syrup, but a charitable description is that it looks like you are digging into a frozen pond. A less charitable one is it looks like you are eating windshield washer fluid. Perhaps not as appetizing, but still very seasonally appropriate.
If you want some drive thru cheer, you can head to McDonald's. Back in 1999 McDonald's introduced their Holiday Pies as part of the promotion for the move "Toy Story 2." The item was a spin on the usual apple version available every day, except this one was filled with vanilla custard and topped with a white sugar glaze and sprinkles. Despite positive reaction, it took more than a decade for it to make an official appearance. Starting in 2012 it was added to the menu, but only in select markets and for a limited time. As of this writing it has been spotted in a handful of states including Texas, Oregon, and New York, showing that the company appears to show no geographic or political favoritism in the holiday spirit.
There are multiple other examples. Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Flavor of the Month is Gingerbread House. Krispy Kreme has a Snowman Smile Doughnut. And the Cheesecake Factory is offering Peppermint Bark Cheesecake. But ground zero for holiday treats is the world of hot drinks. And the 800 pound Santa in that space is most definitely Starbucks. Long before competitors like Dunkin' and McDonald's McCafe started promoting their own spin, they were the first to offer all manner of holiday themed drinks, and have led, or more correctly, defined the arms race ever since.
Each chain has the table stakes that is their own variation on the now classic Peppermint Mocha Latte and White Hot Chocolate. But it's the gang from Seattle that has the deep bench that enables it to come up with new varietals every year. This season sees an Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte, which combines sugar cookie–flavored syrup with Blonde Roast espresso and almondmilk over ice, and then adds red and green sprinkles. Or try a Chestnut Praline Latte, which is espresso and steamed milk with caramelized chestnut and spices, all finished with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. Their holiday offerings are if Steve Jobs built the Field of Dreams; people don't even know they want it, but once they build it, you will come.
And then there's Dairy Queen's entry. It's a blend of cocoa fudge with vanilla soft serve topped with a sweet whipped topping and chocolate drizzle. More or less a chocolate sundae, but in the spirit of the season they call it Frozen Hot Chocolate. It might not warm you up, but it will definitely make you go Ho Ho Ho.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford has learned to appreciate Christmas stollen. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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