Nobody Bakes a Cake as Tasty as a Tastykake

If you're local, then you understand the wonder that is the Tastykake. The other day the bf ran into Wawa to get us a snack and emerged with this Tastykake butterscotch krimpet Christmas tree ornament. (Rest assured; he got the snacks also. It was Krimpets. What else?) I turned the box over in my hands, transfixed by the glittery plastic butterscotch frosting. I'll probably keep this thing dangling from something all year long. And why not? There's nothing Christmasy about a krimpet. If anything, it's the kind of kitschy knickknack made for year-round display. (By the way, why is it that butterscotch is so delicious? I mean, it sounds like it would be disgusting.) The back of the ornament box offered up the origin of the krimpet, a tale so compelling that I can't help but share it here with you now:

"The 1920s roared through America creating optimism and excitement. For Tastykake, this meant a new bakery in Philadelphia's Hunting Park section in 1922 and the birth of a Tastykake icon . . . the Butterscotch Krimpet.

Krimpets came about because Tastykake bakers were very fussy, insisting on using only the freshest ingredients. When held in the middle, the cakes fell apart because they were so fresh! Finally, one baker said, "Why don't we bake the cake so it will be easier to hold? Let's take the baking tin and 'krimp it.'" Thus, in 1927, the Butterscotch Krimpet was born . . . and the rest, as they say, is history."

Cute, huh? You gotta love that plug about using "only the freshest ingredients." But I can't poke too much fun. Now, if only I could get my hands on some tiny krimpets charms to make some jewelry . . .