Christmas is coming early in 2021 as the Wisconsin State Fair serves up, not just one, but two festively flavored cream puffs this holiday season. 

Starting today and running through Sunday, Dec. 12, the Wisconsin State Fair is reopening its cream puff drive-thru and dishing out cocoa cream puffs – that classic light cream puff shell packed with chocolate-infused cream and dusted with cocoa powder, introduced last holiday season – as well as a brand new flavor: candy cane cream puffs, a slightly minty take on the State Fair classic featuring a blizzard of crushed candy cane pieces on top. 

To see if these new cream puffs were on Santa's nice list or if they deserved coal in their stocking, Lori and I received a special delivery of these minty treats from the elves at the State Fair's Wisconsin Baker's Association workshop and took to Facebook for yet another FoodCrush Live taste test. (We also tried the cocoa cream puffs – which we'd already taste-tested, but come on, like we could turn down more dessert.)

Would the new puffs have us feeling merry and bright? Or turn us into culinary grinches? Let's dig in!

Go figure: Cream puffs are good – even when flavored with mint, a notoriously tricky taste to get just right. And these refreshing fluffs did exactly that, not going overboard and accidentally turning into Crest toothpaste cream puffs but also still delivering subtly sweet minty satisfaction. Mark this down as yet another win for the Wisconsin State Fair's increasing portfolio of flavored cream puffs – and mark this down as the best and most delicious way I've discovered to freshen my breath. 

Get yours!

For a taste of your own, the drive-thru is open at Wisconsin State Fair Park on Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., as well as Sunday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The path to cream puffs begins at Gate 5. As an added bonus, on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will take a break from their busy Christmas preparations to pass out the puffs. 

Both cream puff variations will be available in three-packs for $14 and six-packs for $25. (Unfortunately you cannot mix and match flavors in a single box, so if you want to see what a mint chocolate puff tastes like, you'll have to purchase a pack of each.) A Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation ornament will also be for sale for $25. Plus, since this is the season of giving, each vehicle passing through the cream puff drive-thru will receive one free admission ticket to the Noel Light Park and Christmas Market currently hosted in the Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

For more information on the cream puffs – including, most importantly, how to order your own – visit the Wisconsin State Fair's website. Happy holidays – and a merry cream puff to you all! (Also: State Fair, if you're looking ahead for additional new puff flavors, these ideas are all still totally on the table.)