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History of the 7 Greatest American Desserts

J.J. McCullough | August 10, 2026



A look at the “big seven:” cupcake, smores, banana split, jello, cheesecake, and donuts.

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Written by J.J. McCullough

Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  7. @OriSnori

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    JJ, why did you use "Of Yishama" as the musical representation of doughnuts? Do they have any connection to Jewish weddings that I'm unaware of?

  9. @LogarithmicVolumeKnob

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    I've always assumed that donuts are called that because the common ring shaped variety resembles a nut you would use when constructing something. Like a nut and bolt. It just seemed logical to me, so I never investigated further.

  10. @pdruiz2005

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    Quintessential American desserts you forgot:

    Red velvet cake (invented in Baltimore in the mid-1800s)

    Pumpkin pie (date of origin unknown, but containing a quintessential North American crop—pumpkin)

    Key lime pie (invented somewhere in Florida in the early 1900s)

    Brownies (invented in Chicago sometime in the mid-1800s)

    Klondike bars (don’t know where they’re invented, but famous throughout the US)

    Oreos (don’t known where they’re invented, but famous throughout the US)

    Rice Krispie Treats (ditto)

  13. @arrow2589

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    Glossing over the banana gangs and the utter horrific things that the u s did to get control of the banana supply is wild

    Everything followed by the massive glossing over of the annexation of hawaii and the complete colonization of it that was fueled a good portion in part by pineapples? Really JJ?

  16. @fillitupsuper

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    Cheesecake is easily the most prolific American desert. At a random restaurant and not sure about their desert menu – and you see cheesecake? You go with the cheesecake.

  17. @oak8594

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    Honestly surprised that while you noted the stereotype of Donuts as office worker food, you didn't touch on what I feel has been the longer running and more pervasive stereotype that cops especially love donuts, which came about because back in the day cops who worked very late night/early morning hours didn't have many other options for food during their shifts, so donut placed tended to be common – and of course donut shops would also encourage this by offering free donuts due to the extra protection the police presence would bring. I'd say it essentially took over the "Irish Cop" stereotype from the first half of the 20th century as the biggest stereotype of a cop, especially an incompetent cop, who would usually be depicted as a fat bumbling cop, always with donut in hand (ie, Chief Wiggum). Hell, Wreck-It Ralph had the guards/cops in the Sugar Rush world be donuts as a reference to this. Of course, cops have over the last few decades tried to fight against this as well, with some stories coming out of some police departments outright forbidding their cops of being seen eating/buying donuts. Though to this day I see my local cops always hitting the local Dunkin' every morning…

  20. @21Shells

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    As a Brit i’d have to add Chocolate Pudding, American Muffins and Brownies as being very ‘American’ desserts. Some of the desserts on this list have been exported back to Europe and interpreted in their own ways. A banana split served with fried banana fritters is a slightly outdated but iconic chip shop dessert. Cant forget sundae’s either.

    Was inspired to make my own lists of British desserts:

    Apple Pie, Carrot Cake, Crumble, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Bannoffee Pie, Victoria Sponge and Jaffa Cakes. Chose these because some have been eaten for a very long time while others were a result of innovation during the industrial revolution or use ingredients made popular during the British Empire and from globalism.

  21. @DruberrySil

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    Cotton Candy is only pink because of like you said it's pretty. But fairies used in American media used to be predominately girls and were associated with more girly and "Whimsical" things, so…. pink. Probably wasn't even a conscious choice made by them. Not that I know for certain, it's just a guesstimation.

  22. @wonderwaffle5858

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    is it not called a doughnut because it looks like a nut and is made of dough? i know nuts didn’t exist back then but maybe it’s a newer name for an older food? if so donut holes should be called doughbolts

  28. @pinball-wizard

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    To me cotton candy is either blue or pink, and I think that could possibly be the obvious gender associated colors. Obviously pink is like, the “default default” but that sort of light blue cotton candy is pretty common too. (I also do know that specific color association between the genders is a more recent thing

  31. @Rainbow_Oracle

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    2:33 A donut is a "dough nought". It's basically, a ring of dough. That's all.

    You can also read it as a dough knot. Or a dough nut. They are all related words. Though that doesn't really change the meaning much.

    Knot = a line bent into a figure
    Nought = a circle, a ring, zero, nothing. (words: "no" and "not" are probably also related)
    Nut = a ring shaped fastener with threads cut into it. (No relation to tree nuts; from word "nought")

    If you take out all the silent letters from doughnought you get donut. [Do_ _ _ n _ u _ _ t].
    It's surprisingly fashion forward. 50% shorter! Noah Webster would be proud!
    If only we could get rid of all the unncessary silent letters in the rest of the words we use.
    Just finishing killing off the "gh" would do plenty.
    All you have to do is take it off the spell check on Youtube, Microsoft Word, and Gmail and practice would die off in a heartbeat.

    *EDIT: punctuation

  32. @RainbowYak

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    When I lived in the US, some friends once asked me to bake a cake for them in the style we bake them in my homecountry Switzerland. I did. My American friends' reaction: "oh, that's a really tasty bread you've baked!" I told them it's not a bread, it's a cake. They looked at me confused: "But it doesn't contain any sugar??" I told them I put plenty of sugar in it but this is the amount of sugar we use in Switzerland. My friends were visibly disturbed that something like this would be called a cake. I think the most essential American dessert characteristic is to use 5 times as much sugar as any other culture on the planet.

  35. @doryna_sira

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    My mom and her family went to church a couple of blocks over from the original Krispy Kreme shop. If she and her siblings behaved during the service, my grandpa them over and got them each a hot doughnut.

  45. @FrankyMarinino1369

    August 10, 2026 at 9:07 am

    The banana split was invented in my hometown. Latrobe PA. We're also known for Steelers training camp, the banana split festival annually every summer, arnold palmer international and Fred mf'n Rodgers.

Comments are closed.

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