From pickle ketchup to spicy pickle Goldfish crackers to pickle soda, these day everyone seems to be hooked on the briny, herbaceous smack of pickles’ punch, and food brands have been all too happy to accommodate.
As Food & Wine reports, the latest product to cater to these tastes is a collaboration between Claussen and the Baked By Melissa dessert company, and it tests the very limits of pickles’ versatility: a tangy pickle cupcake, available now while supplies last.
The Claussen x Baked by Melissa Pickle Cupcake was released on July 10 in honor of National Pickle Month, and is described in the press release as “a dill-icious pickle-infused cake and pickle buttercream icing complete with festive red and white sprinkles on top.” The bite-sized treats will be sold in packs of six at Baked by Melissa locations (there are 14 stores across New York City and Boston) for $10.25. But you don’t have to live near a store to get a taste — customers can purchase 25-packs online for nationwide shipping at a cost of $37.
While there have been many high-profile pickle-tastic products in recent years, Claussen, a 150-year-old jarred pickle brand, has been at the forefront of the trend, releasing some of the wackiest and most high-profile brand collaborations. In 2023, the brand teamed up with Spritz Society to release a pickle-flavored sparkling wine cocktail, intended to be an April Fools’ Day gag — but consumers loved the salty-sweet pairing so much that the product stuck around through the summer. This year, the beverage has returned to shelves in a larger format 12-ounce can. Claussen also teamed up with Frankford Candy to release miniature gummy pickles, though these were only pickle-shaped, not pickle-flavored.
This is, however, not the first time pickles have found their way into the dessert realm. In August 2023, the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival debuted a Pickle Milkshake at the Brew-Wing Booth, ostensibly run by the Muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. The shake (which was, of course, bright green) was topped with whipped cream, garnished with sprigs of fresh dill and a scattering of peppercorns. Reactions were mixed, but it sold well thanks to customers’ curiosity.
We have no doubt that curiosity will similarly drive sales of the new Claussen x Baked by Melissa Pickle Cupcakes—at least in part. There will be plenty of customers who want to turn the electric green treats into an Instagrammable moment or a TikTok taste test, or maybe even a prank offered to unsuspecting loved ones.
Whatever the reason, it’s fair to guess that these cupcakes will be a salty-sweet success.
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