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Michiganders generally eat the same types of desserts as the rest of the country, but we also have some famous Michigan desserts we call our own.
A few of our sweets and baked goods feature tart cherries, because they grow good and bake delicious. Isolated from modern society, Mackinac Island maintains its dark fudge-making traditions.
Today we're listing well-known, traditional Michigan desserts and why they're noteworthy. Stay a while to indulge in six notable desserts from the State of Michigan.
Michigan tart cherry pie is probably the one dessert Michiganders are best known for. Whether you — as a Michigander — take to tart or not, tart is the common stereotype people have about our desserts. It’s true we enjoy bountiful Montmorency tart cherries here in The Mitten. Our state grows 70% of the entire United States' tart cherry supply. I’d give my pinky for a free all-expenses paid vacation to a Traverse City baker for the best ingredients freshest baked.
The opportune time to indulge in fudge is every year during the late summer and early fall Fudge Festival. , where the most powerful and influential fudgemakers congregate. The Original Mackinac Island Fudge Company is a business established in 2020 near Saginaw, so it has the words “Original”, “Mackinac”, and “Fudge” in it for purposes of for-profit chocolatiering. Unlike fresh-baked local desserts, you can buy Mackinac Island fudge online year round from these makers on the island. #TheRealMackinacIslandFudge
Ask me what’s Michigan’s best fudge, and — of course — Mackinac Island fudge is the best. Mackinac island is the Fudge Capital of the World. Michiganders have believed it’s the best fudge in the world since the late 1800s. But if there’s ever an argument I’d rather stay out of, it’s the rich hoot’n’hollar of native Mackinac Islanders talking fudge. Murdick's Candy Kitchen, established in 1887, is regarded as the earliest Mackinac Island Fudge, but each Islander has their favorite.
Better than frosting, mow down globs of buttercream on top of frosting. Even though Sander’s Candy isn’t best known in the fudge category, they invented a new dessert in Michigan, called the Bumpy Cake from their Detroit confectionery back in 1913. All three three flavors — chocolate fudge, vanilla buttercream, and carrot — are topped with yummy, light, fluffy buttercream bumps the size and shape of a half corn cob. The founder of Bumpy Cake squeezed out excessive buttercream on top of a devil's food cake back in 1913, and it turned into a family culinary tradition.
Pączki is pronounced "POONCH-key" and written simply as Paczki because it’s a Polish word. You don’t have to be strong with Polish heritage to celebrate Fat Tuesday — the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent — by eating the plump and delicious guilty pleasure called the Pączki. Pączki are so gluttonous, even back home in Poland, people only make Pączkis once a year. Pączki are a deep-fried, doughy, yeasty pastry, filled with a fruity or creamy filling, and topped with powdered sugar. 7 in 100 Michiganders could be counted in this West Slavic ethnic group, and Wisconsin is the only other state with more Poles per capita. Nothing makes a Pączki from Michigan more than Polish Michiganders who make ‘em most delicious.
The Michigan rock cookie is our most unusual type of cookie. We call it the Michigan rock cookie, but it’s originally a German recipe. You’d better add dates, raisins, and/or walnuts to crunch and chew with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or allspice in a pinch. The fruit and nut bits inside make Michigan rock cookies a pretty healthy dessert, but brown sugar, white sugar, and butter mean it’s still a rich dessert. Rumors that Michigan’s hiding a unique type of “No-Bake Cookie” are false, because Michigan rock cookies are baked at 350 degrees. My two best friends Nina and Amy from back home in Michigan can never agree on the best recipe.
A Michigan cherry chip cookie is a chocolate chip cookie with Michigan-grown cherries added into the mix — dried or fresh to taste. Cookie lovers crazy for macadamia may substitute white chips for dark, extra sweet mingled with the cherry’s tart. Cooper Street Snacks and Cherry Republic are two places to buy online.
Michigan desserts aren’t particularly flashy or precious. In my opinion, they’re practical and tied tightly to place, people, and a stubborn isthmus-dwelling tradition. From cherries unashamedly tart, to fudge richer than friendship — and to pastries we borrow, adapt, and overindulge — Michigan’s sweets are simple and delicious. They’re baked by immigrants, islanders, factory towns, lake towns, and families who swear their version is the right one. Bake them fresh if you can, or order online if you must.
