A kringle, but not Kris

get the best wisconsin pastry shipped to your front door

Hi everyone!

I don’t know about you, but this election cycle has me much more stressed out than the last one. At least we’re at the finish line. Weirdly, today’s piece is unintentionally election and food-related, and you’ll see what I’m talking about in just a sec.

As I mentioned in the last edition (to paid subscribers), I wasn’t going to be able to post last week because Davida and I had to head up to Wisconsin for some family events. Half of that weekend was spent in Green Bay, home of the Packers, when it dawned on me that I had a special recommendation from up there for all of you to enjoy. And the best part is, you don’t have to go to Green Bay to try it.

Before I continue, just the obligatory stuff — today’s edition of the newsletter is free, but please consider upgrading your subscription to a full one by signing up using the field below:

You know the drill. Every other edition’s behind a paywall just so I can keep The Party Cut’s head just above water, but you also get full run of the archives that way. The one thing I have never mentioned is that this newsletter is now my sole outlet for local food writing, so please give it a thought.

So what the heck does Green Bay have to do with you? Well, the holidays are coming up, and I have a terrific gift idea (or personal treat) for you, and it involves one of my favorite Midwestern baked goods of all time: the kringle.

That’s why Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe should be on your radar.

Uncle Mike’s (not to be confused with the Chicago Filipino breakfast restaurant of the same name) is a small chain of bakeries with four locations in Wisconsin.

Since we FIBs like to travel up to lovely Wisconsin frequently, the physical locations are worth knowing about. There’s two in the Green Bay area (one’s in De Pere, which is a town attached to GB), Suamico (just north of GB), and Appleton (southwest of GB).

All of them are within about a couple-two-three-and-a-half hours drive from Chicago, which isn’t super far. But Uncle Mike’s is famous for one thing in particular, and that’s its kringle.

If you’re not familiar with this sweet pastry, it’s a type of buttery and flaky Danish usually shaped like a ring, and is filled with anything from fruit, sweet cream cheese, to nuts, along with more creative fillings. They’re big in southwest Wisconsin, which means we get a little spillover in Chicago. You can usually find them at grocery stores here closer to the holidays, typically from a company called Racine Danish Kringles. (I have even found those at ALDI, by the way.)

Most kringles I’ve decimated have been pretty flat and modest, but Uncle Mike’s versions are tall, saturated with butter, and decadent beyond all comprehension.

Their biggest seller is their sea salt caramel pecan kringle, which is the one that Davida and I typically get when we’re up north, and if you’re going to get one single version, this is the one. It’s filled with a spread of pecans, butter, cinnamon, and sugar, and is crowned with icing, salted caramel drizzle, and more pecans, and your first-ever bite will probably leave you speechless.

The best part is that Uncle Mike’s ships year-round. Most Kringles will cost you about $38, but that’s with shipping included, and I’m going to go so far as to say that it’s worth it. When Davida and I visited the De Pere location in person, the one we got was just over $23, so admittedly, shipping is pretty steep, but I still think $38 is a fair price for a baked good that’s this well-crafted.

Uncle Mike’s kringles make for stellar gifts, so if your budget allows, consider getting one for yourself or for loved ones this year. You’re supporting a small business (even if it’s not in Chicago), and enjoying one of the Midwest’s best baked goods.

I’m going to credit my former editor at The Takeout, Marnie Shure, for putting Uncle Mike’s on our radar. She once gifted our staff members each with one, and Davida and I have had them yearly ever since. And no, I’m not being sponsored by Big (small) Kringle.

(You’re the only ones that keep this newsletter alive, for the record.)

You can’t get everything from Uncle Mike’s shipped, since the shop also carries a lot of other stuff, like cakes, ice cream, and more.

If you’re planning on visiting, I recommend you make Uncle Mike’s your last shop before your three hour drive back. Maybe pack a cooler with ice in it, since you can buy frozen stuff to take home. It will likely thaw a bit before you get back, but whatever you get will be fine to put back in the freezer once you return.

There’s dinner-type take-and-bake things like chicken enchiladas, which Davida and I liked a lot when we got one a few trips back.

It’s all Midwestern homestyle food, like casseroles and such, if you’re looking for a main dish for dinner.

There’s also little things like frozen buffalo chicken dip, which we also liked a lot when we had it some years back, and, of course, frozen pizza.

If you didn’t know, Wisconsin’s frozen pizza game is unparalleled. If you don’t believe me, check out this video posted on Reddit; when you ever go up north, you owe it to yourself to at least browse through the frozen aisle at a major grocery store. There’ll be frozen pizza brands that you’d never be able to get here, and the varieties are incredible, including toppings such as bratwurst, breakfast, Mexican-style ingredients, and more. It makes Jewel’s frozen pizza section look shamefully small in comparison, and Chicago’s not even that far from Wisconsin!

The stuff at Uncle Mike’s is just a delight to look through, so take your time.

There’s freshly baked goods too, so I recommend you drop by in the morning for breakfast if you’re a pastry person.

Davida’s family is particularly enthusiastic about the donuts, so we got a few to try outside on the trunk of my luxurious 2009 Toyota Camry before we headed back to her hometown.

We particularly liked the turtle donut ($2.19, a steal), since it was dense and so heavily covered with chocolate, caramel, and pecans. In my day-to-day diet I hardly ever touch sweets, but if we lived up north, I’d be screwed.

Then there are things like cream-filled cronuts ($3.85), which are a reasonably-priced Midwestern version of Dominique Ansel’s innovation.

It’s not quite as flaky as other versions as I’ve had, since this one’s seemingly more yeasted donut than croissant, but still a fun novelty item that hits the same notes. The cronut is definitely charming and worth getting, though.

Davida’s family loves Uncle Mike’s cream-filled long johns ($1.92, stop snickering).

These are great too. What’s funny is I always think a long john is going to be custard or cream filled (they never are), so it’s nice to get one like this that’s actually full of fluffy and not-too-heavy cream. They were sold out of the custard version that day, so we missed out on my favorite type of donut, but I’m sure we’ll be back.

And you know how I mentioned the election earlier?

Wisconsin is a swing state, and my God, the news coverage isn’t kidding when they say it’s a hotbed of competing politics. I’ve never been visually inundated with so many highway billboards and political front yard signs in my life. Even the Instagram ads on my phone, thanks to geolocation, were political — and in some cases, pretty extreme.

Davida noted that we saw a lot of Harris/Walz signs in southern Wisconsin, while the majority swung Trump/Vance the further north we went as we drove through small towns. This wasn’t unexpected, but still interesting to see in person.

Uncle Mike’s was clearly having fun with the election, however, and had themed cookies with Trump and Harris’ face on them. This made me laugh out loud while I was standing in line. A trio of teenage girls also noticed them and they pointed and giggled too. The bakery didn’t seem to favor either candidate (likely due to business safety concerns), but I did notice that Trump’s cookie had somewhat of an unflattering expression on his face with his mouth wide open. To be fair, I think his mouth is always open, so that’s not out of the ordinary.

Uncle Mike’s sense of humor extended to its kringle, which is why Davida and I couldn’t help but buy the Election Kringle ($23.40) rather than our usual sea salt caramel pecan.

If you’re wondering how on earth a baked good can be election-themed aside from its external color, I found the concept for this thing entertaining. That’s because half of the kringle was blueberry and cream-cheese filled, while the other half was raspberry and cream cheese-filled (red and blue, get it?). The whole thing was absolutely delicious, though I found myself preferring the blueberry side and not just for personal (ahem) reasons.

The Election Kringle is available on Uncle Mike’s website too, and I definitely recommend trying it if you can get your hands on one. Considering election day is tomorrow, I’m guessing that once it’s sold out, it won’t be back for another four years. But the sea salt caramel pecan one will always be there for you, and that one is thankfully associated with no threats of political insurrection.

Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe (four locations in WI)
Hours vary by location
Ships nationwide

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Hey, at least you don’t have to travel to grab a kringle. Though $38 isn’t what I’d call cheap, meals for two people at any restaurant covered in The Party Cut oftentimes exceed that, and these kringles can stretch out quite a bit due to how rich they are.

In any case, if you found today’s edition of the newsletter useful, please do me a favor and share it wherever you can, social media, email, Discord, group chat, you know. Word of mouth helps it grow:

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Lastly, if you got to this point, I forgot to mention this earlier. I have a second newsletter called Food is Stupid where I do all sorts of dumb shit with food, and my last edition was unusually Chicago-related. I did some blasphemous things with Italian beef sandwiches at Portillo’s, so I think you guys might all get a kick out of that, though it could potentially get me in trouble with some of you.

Okay, hope you all voted or plan to vote, but at this time next week, barring anything incredibly unusual (never say never) we’ll have a new president-elect. Hang onto your butts, and I love you guys.