There’s more bad news for American consumers. A study conducted by Hello Fresh shows that the cost of baking Christmas and holiday cookies and treats is much higher this year and prices vary depending upon where you live in the country.
That could put a damper on many planned holiday cookie swaps and Christmas cookie fundraisers.
“As we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season, our thoughts have turned to culinary treats that are seasonal traditions in the United States and worldwide. For many of us, baking Christmas cookies is an annual tradition and, despite notable rises in food prices recently, this year is no different,” the Hello Fresh study reported. “For our sweet-toothed readers, we looked into regional costs of baking ingredients to find the average cost of making a batch of simple (and delicious) Christmas cookies in 60 cities across the US and 30 countries around the world, so you can see which places are getting the most bites for their buck.”
The study calculated the prices of traditional cookie ingredients including the cost of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and baking powder in each location in the study. Based on the cost of those ingredients, Hello Fresh created a median price index.
Here are the top ten most expensive places to buy ingredients for your 2021 Christmas cookies:
- San Diego, California – $12.40
- Burlington, Vermont – $12.08
- Virgin Islands – $11.87
- Los Angeles, California – $11.41
- Salt Lake City, Utah – $11.40
- Wilmington, Delaware – $10.00
- Bridgeport, Connecticut – $9.92
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin – $9.79
- Phoenix, Arizona – $9.21
- Detroit, Michigan – $9.00
Here are the top 10 cheapest places to buy ingredients for your 2021 Christmas cookies:
- Charleston, South Carolina – $2.23
- Charleston, West Virginia – $2.90
- American Samoa – $3.10
- Des Moines, Iowas – $4.13
- Portland, Maine – $4.62
- Dallas, Texas – $4.76
- Charlotte, North Carolina – $4.92
- Lincoln, Nebraska – $4.97
- Albuquerque, New Mexico – $5.05
- Cleveland, Ohio – $5.20