It was a hard-fought battle – but, in the end, the outcome was clear.
Classic shortbread earned readers’ votes to take top spot in our online Ultimate Battle of the Christmas Treats.
We started online polling two weeks ago, asking readers to choose their favourite treats in four categories: Best Home Baking, Best Store-Bought Sweets, Best Savoury Snacks and Best of the Rest (for any others or oddball snacks that just didn’t fit anywhere else).
We then advanced the top two winners of each category to a final round of voting, which wrapped up this week.
Shortbread ran away with it in the end, capturing 39 per cent of readers’ votes for first place.
Home baking also took second place, as butter tarts emerged with 21 per cent of the vote.
Purdy’s Hedgehogs made a valiant run but finished just shy of the home baking entries, with 19 per cent of the votes.
At the other end of the spectrum, savoury snacks didn’t fare well at all. The bottom three vote getters were mixed nuts, corn chips and salsa, and potato chips and dip.
Among the other contenders, the controversial licorice allsorts (which had tied for the lead in the “Best of the Rest” category to advance to the finals) wound up in fifth place, with 7.5 per cent of the vote – just behind Ferrero Rocher, at eight per cent.
Licorice allsorts were undoubtedly the most divisive entry in the final, with supporters lobbying hard for their win – while detractors questioned how they got into the finals in the first place.
As one reader observed: “If anger and regret were a flavour, they’d be licorice allsorts.”
Better luck next time, licorice fans.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here’s how the votes broke down in our final round of voting:
- Shortbread 39%
- Butter tarts 21%
- Purdy’s Hedgehogs 19%
- Ferrero Rocher 8%
- Licorice allsorts 7.5%
- Potato chips & dip 2%
- Corn chips & salsa <1%
- Mixed nuts <1%
- Other 3%
* Note: Numbers may be inexact due to rounding.
