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The 5 Weirdest Holiday-Themed Junk Foods

Wash down your corn stew–flavored Doritos with a latke soda!

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The holidays are a time for comfort foods, sweet treats, and habitual overeating (followed by shamefaced New Year's resolutions). From egg nog to Christmas ham and latkes, certain foods exude the spirit of the season. And of course, Big Food wants to cash in on the sentiment.

M&M's, Hershey Kisses, and even chocolate oranges (there better be one in my stocking this year!) are holiday junk food classics. But for every tried-and-true Christmastime snack, there's a bizarre treat that somehow escaped the test lab and made its way to store shelves.

We've picked out five of the weirdest to ring in the season.


Pepsi-Cola Holiday Spice

Pepsi-Cola Holiday Spice

Image Credit: Flickr user "tereneta" (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Do you love Pepsi, but feel like it's just not... Christmasy enough? Boy oh boy, does Pepsi-Cola have a product for you!

If you're familiar with the Swedish holiday beverage known as Julmust, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Pepsi Holiday Spice. If not, well... it's basically Pepsi with a big dash of cinnamon dumped on top. But if that sounds good to you, you'd better head to your local IKEA, since Pepsi only made Holiday Spice twice—in 2004 and 2006.

(One of our editors was a big fan back in the day and vocally laments Holiday Spice's demise, but the general public doesn't seem to care as much—I couldn't find anyone else who remembered even trying the stuff.)


Pringles White Chocolate Peppermint

Pringles White Chocolate Peppermint flavor [Credit: Flickr user "Joelk75" (CC BY 2.0)]

[Credit: Flickr user "Joelk75" (CC BY 2.0)]

Yep, this was a thing.

Back in 2012, Pringles set out to make a special White Chocolate Peppermint flavor in honor of the Christmas season. And according to some reports they succeeded a little too well: Junk Food Betty says they tasted just like the real thing, which she argues makes them all the more disgusting. (And who would argue with someone called Junk Food Betty?)

These Pringles looked just like your run-of-the-mill processed potato chip product, but were covered in a white powder filled with chocolate and peppermint flavor crystals. To quote the inestimable Junk Food Betty, "Again, there is no reason for these to exist. This is a road that can only lead to bad things."


Pizza Hut Singapore's Double Sensation Pizza

Pizza Hut Singapore's Double Sensation Pizza

A few years ago, Pizza Hut Singapore offered this Christmas wreath-shaped pizza (yes, you read that right) for the holidays.

Essentially two pizzas in one, the Double Sensation (or "Inception pizza," as Eater put it) had two crusts and a veritable cornucopia of toppings, including everything from salsa, to smoked chicken, to a single cherry in the center. The outer crust was stuffed with three cheeses—cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan—while the inner was crammed full of chicken sausage and even more cheese.

Business Insider notes that the pie came in two sizes—a 10-inch (personal?) size and a 13-inch for those who could bear to share. The pizzas cost $21.75 and $27.49, respectively, which made them a reasonably cheap way to sell out your self-respect.


Doritos Rock'n White Corn Cream Stew

Doritos Rock'n White Corn Cream Stew

Asian snacks can be.... confounding to American palates, and their holiday food traditions don't exactly make sense to many of us on this side of the pond. (Remember Japan's obsession with KFC on Christmas Day?) But this one... it's a little further out there.

These Doritos are green (hint #1 that we're getting weird) and shaped like Christmas trees (hint #2). And because it's Christmas, they're dusted with a light coating of "snow"—actually a corn cream stew–flavored powder.

If you're interested in giving them a try, you better hop on a plane. You can only purchase them in Japan.


Jones Latke Soda

The Jones Soda Hanukkah Pack, including Latke Soda.

Jones Soda is well-known for its extreme, oft-unpalatable holiday flavors. They're basically the beverage equivalent of weird Jelly Belly flavors. Turkey & gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and Christmas ham are all delicious... as food. But do you really want them in a soda bottle?

(No. The answer is no.)

Still, one of the company's strangest creations has to be the Latke Soda, which Jones released back in 2007. BevReview describes the drink as "brownish-yellow in color" and reports that it actually didn't have much flavor at all, aside from being incredibly salty. Sounds better than we expected, but we'll still pass.

On the plus side, the Latke Soda was Kosher. Still, you'd probably be better off just eating a regular old potato pancake.


Hero image: Flickr user "sshb" (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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