Looking for the best fresh-baked cookies, cakes, croissants, doughnuts, and artisanal bread in America? Try any of these 50 beloved hometown bakeries — we've covered a variety of top-notch baked goods state by state. From mom-and-pop shops to high-end patisseries, you'll find spots to satisfy your sweet and savory cravings.
Stop by The Continental Bakery in Birmingham for authentic European-style bread and pastries such as stone hearth-baked French baguettes, focaccia, and wild yeast sourdough, croissants, pocket pies, cakes, and truffles. The mellow atmosphere is perfect for sipping tea while indulging in an almond croissant or a couple of white chocolate pecan sandies.
From sweet fruit Danishes, scones, cinnamon rolls, and vegan muffins to savory jalapeño cream cheese cheddar buns and multigrain focaccia sandwiches, Homer's Two Sisters Bakery is a welcoming eatery. The sheer variety of fresh-baked breads and fruit-filled and frosted cakes prepared in this beautiful house is reason enough to celebrate. Blackberry forest cake, anyone?
Phoenix-based Urban Cookies Bakeshop, launched by a husband and wife, uses all-natural ingredients (locally sourced whenever possible) to bake up fabulous cookie, dessert bar, doughnut, and bread creations. It even coordinates with local nonprofits through job training and mentorship programs and supplies in-kind cookie donations for fundraisers to support the community. Dark chocolate walnut cookies never sounded so good.
There might be a line out the door, but you'll quickly discover what makes Harrison's Neighbor's Mill Bakery & Cafe so special. There's much to choose from: six varieties of coffee, famous pumpkin cream cheese muffins and award-winning sandwiches, and more than 25 varieties of made-from-scratch breads — from challah-peno to cranberry pecan to Greek olive to a best-selling nine-grain "Neighbor's Best" bread.
With James Beard Award-winning pastry chefs Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt in the kitchen, breads and pastries shine at San Francisco's Tartine Bakery & Cafe. The shop's signature slow-fermented yeast breads produced with locally milled organic flours — from Danish-style sprouted rye to ancient-grain loaves — and exceptional passion fruit tarts and tres leches cakes have garnered a cult following.
Inspired by Old World food craftsmanship, Louisville bread purveyor Moxie Bread Co. prepares all of its baked goods with organic heirloom wheat flour, which our bodies tend to digest easier than modern wheat varieties. The eatery whips up its rustic loaves, bagels, tartines, kouignoù amann (or dense, sugar-crusted croissants), and other sweets in a charming house built in 1880 just outside of Boulder.
More than 30 varieties of classic, New York-style doughnuts — and we're talking epic, mega-sized proportions — are born at Wallingford's Neil's Donuts & Bake Shop. Pair a dark roast or toffee caramel coffee with any one of the melt-in-your-mouth pastries: apple-filled, Bavarian cream, or maple-frosted doughnuts, glazed crullers, cherry turnovers, cinnamon coffeecakes, and coconut cream pie are just a few options.
Italian delicatessen Frank & Louie's Italian Specialties in Rehoboth Beach is packed with imported meats, cheeses, vinegars and oils, pastas, and sauces alongside delicious baked goods. The tiny shop features homemade Italian pastries such as ricotta cookies, almond biscotti, and cannolis plus monster-sized, fresh-to-go sandwiches.
The popularity of Orlando-based bake shop Se7en Bites may have increased since its appearance on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," but the Southern comfort food is worth the wait. Many of the breakfast dishes (served all day) feature savory buttermilk garlic biscuits, and the bakery's scratch-made sweets include vanilla-bean bourbon bacon moonpies, oatmeal cream pies, and sweet cream scones, available until the daily supply vanishes.
Tucked away in an unassuming industrial park, H&F Bread Co. sells delicious breads, pastries, and local jams and condiments. Fresh-made bread, including Jerusalem bagels and pretzel rolls, and baked goods such as sticky toffee cake, handheld pies, scones, and Danish pastries are prepared daily. You can expect high quality breads at this hidden gem, since it supplies many Atlanta restaurants and farmers markets.
Leonard's Bakery has been serving up delicious baked goods to the masses in Honolulu since 1952. Malasadas — Portuguese doughnuts without holes that have been stuffed with a creamy filling and coated in sugar — quickly became the house specialty. Today, patrons can find hot malasadas in rotating monthly flavors such as pumpkin custard at the bricks-and-mortar bakery or on the road via the Malasadamobile.
Near Stanley's Sawtooth Mountains and the Salmon River, Stanley Baking Co. & Cafe makes for a picturesque pitstop. A favorite — but seasonal — gathering spot for tourists and locals alike, the "little log cabin with a kitchen" has everything a pastry and nature lover could ask for: a decadent breakfast of warm, homemade cinnamon rolls, pecan sticky buns, and almond bear claws to enjoy at tables with breathtaking views of the peaks.
All you need to know is in the name: Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits in Chicago makes pie and biscuits that'll make your head explode (in a good way). A line of patrons out front is almost a guarantee, but it'll move quickly so you can load up with a biscuit sandwich with candied bacon, a side of cheesy grits, iced coffee on tap, and, naturally, a perfectly crusted piece of pie such as chocolate pecan. If the weather permits, snag a spot on the outdoor patio to dig in.
Amelia's Bread in Indianapolis specializes in hearth-baked sourdough bread in the Italian tradition, including classic, white sourdough; a rustic version of the French baguette; and focaccia seasoned with rosemary, sage, oregano, garlic, fresh parmesan, and olive oil. The charming bakery also showcases daily-made pastries such as decadent oatmeal cookies, super-chocolatey buckwheat cookies, and perfectly flakey croissants.
Jaarsma Bakery has been giving Pella a taste of Holland since 1898. The beloved, family-owned bakery is known for its authentic Dutch pastries made from scratch daily, particularly the "Dutch Letters" — "S" shaped puff pastries filled with an almond paste, baked to golden perfection, and sprinkled with sugar.
Upper Crust Pie Bakery is a quaint Overland Park neighborhood bakery boasting a family recipe-driven roster of mouthwatering pies, including a Dutch apple with streusel crumble topping and strawberry-rhubarb. Savory quiches such as sweet corn and bacon and salted pecan bars are also available.
The stand-out maple bacon doughnuts at Nord's Bakery put the Louisville staple on the map. The airy, maple-glazed long john comes topped with a bacon strip for a delectable sweet and savory combo. There are other fresh-baked doughnut varieties to nosh on too: apple fritter, custard filled, and tiger twist.
Even non-vegans will be surprised by the delicious treats at Breads on Oak Cafe & Bakery. The cozy corner cafe in New Orleans prepares everything onsite in a stone hearth oven using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The bakery has a full line of vegan offerings, including a cheese and herb bread, an "Egg McVegan" sandwich with vegan bacon, egg, and cheese on a fluffy buttermilk biscuit, and Boston cream-stuffed brioche.
Downtown Portland's charming Standard Baking Co. makes breads and pastries including hearty German vollkornbrot (a brown bread), rosemary focaccia, divine chocolate rye cookies, rave-worthy morning buns, hand-rolled croissants, and gooey brownies. The family-owned company's artisanal treats will open your eyes to a world of bread you never knew existed.
If it's cannoli you crave, head to Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop, a Baltimore institution since 1956 renowned for its almond cookies, cannoli, and rum cake, an Italian rum-flavored sponge cake with layers of vanilla and chocolate cream topped by sliced almonds. For cannolis to go, it'll provide the cream filling separately so the cone doesn't get soggy.
Once a solo bakery in Boston's South End, Flour Bakery + Café has exploded into a nationally acclaimed pastry and sandwich empire with multiple city outposts. It's hard to argue with the bakery's "make life sweeter ... eat dessert first" motto when you're surrounded by caramel- and pecan-loaded sticky buns, brown butter cinnamon rolls, and Boston Cream pies. While you're at it, check out the savory category: Yummy sandwiches such as ham and cheese on freshly baked focaccia should do the trick.
Doughnut lovers will rejoice upon entering one of Sweetwater's Donut Mill's locations in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Homemade doughnut options run the gamut from simple glazed to strawberry cheesecake stuffed to s'mores, a chocolate cake doughnut with marshmallow topping and graham cracker bits, to candy bar-inspired creations loaded with caramel, frosting, peanuts, and coconut flakes.
Folks in Minneapolis and St. Paul can hit up Salty Tart for sweet and savory treats in sprawling public markets or "Food Truck Alley" in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport's Terminal 1. Chef Michelle Gayer has everyone hooked on her custom-made cakes, delicious cheddar jalapeño bread, and famous coconut macaroons (a.k.a. "crack-a-roons"). Seriously, Andrew Zimmern deemed them better than his own mother's macaroons.
French and Vietnamese-inspired eats are served at Biloxi's Le Bakery. The laidback, family-run bakery has bubble tea, stellar pastries such as coconut yucca pie and lemon cream cheese turnovers, plus fresh-baked artisanal breads for tasty French Vietnamese banh mi and po'boy sandwiches.
You'll hardly miss the eggs and butter from Kansas City's impressive baked goods and coffee spot, Mud Pie Vegan Bakery & Coffeehouse. The homey bakery and cafe pairs its coffees and teas with a terrific variety of vegan cupcakes, turnovers, dessert bars, and more. Try the German chocolate cupcakes or chai spice cupcakes with chai caramel made from their housemade chai concentrate.
Popular downtown Billings cafe Harper & Madison is best known for its locally roasted coffee, warm paninis, savory quiches, and European-inspired pastries and desserts such as flaky croissants and fruit-filled Danishes. The cafe even hosts acoustic musicians in the evenings, when patrons can enjoy small plates, desserts, and champagne.
Long-running Italian throwback Orsi's Italian Bakery & Pizzeria starts each Omaha morning baking up delicious Italian breads to prep for baked goods, pizzas, and other specialty foodstuffs including the goudarooni, a variation on the calzone that can be stuffed with meats such as hamburger, veggies such as spinach, and cheeses.
When in Las Vegas, you definitely need to experience a showstopping bakery, and the Bellagio Patisserie inside the famous Bellagio Hotel will set the atmosphere. Displays of extravagant candies and pastries — from chocolate eclairs to truffles and tarts to mini key lime pies — and a giant chocolate fountain draws in even the most ardent gambler.
The meringue-based confections at La Maison Navarre in Portsmouth make the bakery a worthwhile stop if you're living in or traveling through New Hampshire. One bite of a rose- or salted caramel-flavored macaron will sweep you away on a Parisian adventure. Other outstanding desserts include the chocolate croissants, Key lime and meringue tarts, and Nutella crepes.
You can't go wrong with any pastry selection at Palazzone 1960 in Wayne. Fresh Napoleon cakes, cannoli, rainbow cookies, chocolate lobster tails, Italian horns, and Tiramisu all pair well with a bold cappuccino.
Albuquerque's Rebel Donut shops make a range of hand-formed yeast- or cake batter-based doughnuts. The Rebel roster includes red velvet, cinnamon crumb cake, pancakes n' bacon, and a signature "Breaking Bad"-themed "Blue Sky" variety: a vanilla cake doughnut with blue cotton candy icing and blue rock candy. The shop also makes kolaches with divine fillings such as sausage, cheddar, and jalapeño.
Momofuku Milk Bar isn't your average bakery. Its modern takes on home-style sweets equal exceptional cookies the size of your hand, such as the Compost cookie — a sweet and salty medley of pretzels, potato chips, butterscotch, and chocolate chips, coffee, and oats — or "Crack Pie," an addictive, buttery pie that's now one of the New York City bakery's most coveted desserts.
Gourmet cupcakery Wilmington's The Peppered Cupcake stocks the usual suspects but also creates some of the most "out there" sweet and savory cupcakes you'll ever try, such as peach and habanero, green pepper jelly with jalapeños, black cherries with horseradish, and more. It also makes irresistible cupcake jars — Mason jars stuffed with two cupcakes, such as almond joy and berry cream pie, layered like a trifle dessert.
The seasonally changing menu at Nichole's Fine Pastry Shop in downtown Fargo covers small-batch baked goods in the European tradition as well as classic American and local favorites. You'll find everything from lemon tarts to creme brulée to latkes to turkey pot pie with a puff pastry crust to single-serving cakes and four-layer carrot cakes.
You'll find comfort foods such as apple turnovers, old-world Polish paczki, and chocolate turtles at Amherst's Kiedrowski's Bakery. The longtime family-owned bakeshop is known for its trademarked Snoogle — a Lady Locks cookie and cheese Danish hybrid that's shaped into a stick and filled with cream. Through a happy accident, this bestselling pastry was created with leftover flaky cookies and sweet cream filling.
You can believe the hype: Pie Junkie is hands-down the best place for a piece of pie in Oklahoma City. Savor every bite of the whimsical shop's decadent peanut butter chocolate pie made with creamy peanut butter mousse and chocolate ganache, which are blended together on top of a graham cracker crust.
Ken's Artisan Bakery stands out for top-quality breads such as country brown, baguette, pain rustique, and raisin pecan — all made with locally grown, sustainably farmed wheat. Wildly successful Monday Night Pizza events inspired Chef Ken Forkish to open a stand-alone, wood-fired oven pizza joint in Portland in 2006. Dig into herbed goat cheese croissants for something savory and French-influenced macarons, brioche cinnamon rolls, seasonal fruit tarts, and hazelnut butter cookies for something sweet.
One of the largest retail bakeries in the country, Oakmont Bakery (named after its hometown) is so chock full of breads, sandwiches, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, doughnuts, and other pastries that you'll likely have a hard time choosing. The "Attitude Cupcakes" line, with its "Double Trouble" cupcake (a velvety-smooth chocolate buttercream-filled luscious chocolate cake with chocolate ganache coating), would be a fine place to start. It's dangerously good.
Seven Stars Bakery makes from-scratch breads and pastries from three locations in Providence. To enhance flavor and texture, it uses regionally sourced, 100 percent organic whole grains and other basic ingredients — but never preservatives. The buzzing Providence bakery's notable bread options include naturally leavened bread studded with Vermont cheddar cheese, lemon pound cake soaked in lemon juice, and cherry pistachio biscotti.
Architects-turned-bakers Bill Bowick and David Bouffard opened up the small-batch Sugar Bakeshop to whip up a variety of homemade treats just like their moms and grandmothers used to make. The playful Charleston bakery churns out tasty cupcakes, pies, and cookies. Seasonal cupcake offerings include hazelnut and pistachio, and then there are year-round flavors such as double chocolate and caramel. You'd do well to also pick up a classic chocolate bourbon pecan pie.
CH Patisserie brings a little slice of Paris to the heart of historic downtown Sioux Falls. World Pastry Championship and Bravo's "Top Chef Just Desserts" winner Chris Hanmer's sophisticated shop bakes "The Favorite," a petit gateaux, or small cake, with dark chocolate, vanilla bean, and praline crunch, among many other small specialty cakes. Other baked goods such as chocolate pretzel macarons, lemon tarts, pork and bean brownies, and bacon maple brioche will also satisfy your sweet tooth.
Even after 30 years, Franklin's Merridee's Breadbasket draws customers regularly to its collection of old fashioned, made-from-scratch baked goods. Simple yet flavorful egg bread and Viking bread — four-grain loaves prepared without eggs or sugar — are among the artisanal selections. The country-chic bakery's prized seven-layer bars, chocolate raspberry cream cheese brownies, and seasonal strawberry rhubarb pies are the perfect remedy for anyone with a sweet tooth.
El Bolillo Bakery prides itself on its wide variety of tres leches cakes and namesake bolillos — one of the staple breads for the Hispanic community. The Houston-based Mexican bakery is known for its bolillo bread and has become the local spot for reasonably priced Mexican breads and other pastries such as pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread), churros, fruit empanadas, and more.
If you're looking for quality and originality in your pastries, Salt Lake City's Fillings & Emulsions will be a go-to spot. While the delicate macarons loaded with fresh fruit and caramel and almond croissants are delicious, the Latin bakery's meat pies are legendary. Thanks to a family recipe for Cuban picadillo, they're savory, slightly sweet and always baked in a flaky and buttery puff pastry. There are three must-try variations: ground beef and pork, chicken, and Cuban sandwich.
The well-known King Arthur Flour Cafe in Norwich is something of a one-stop shop for all your baking needs. In addition to the hearty sandwiches, homemade biscotti, and cinnamon-streusel coffee cake, the bricks-and-mortar outpost also houses a state-of-the-art baking school and store for essential tools and baking ingredients. Don't forget to pick up some of that cranberry-orange scone mix!
Former magazine art director Brian Noyes launched his second career as a countryside food purveyor in the red 1954 Ford truck he bought off fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. He deemed it the Red Truck Rural Bakery while schlepping his breads, pastries, and seasonal jams to local stores. He's since upgraded to bricks-and-mortar sites in Warrenton and Marshall, where you'll discover his popular moonshine cakes and other liquor-inspired cakes, grab-and-go sandwiches on housemade bread, and more.
Macrina Bakery was named after the 4th century Greek mystic and visionary, but it's built its name on simple, superb breads that complement every meal (many varieties come in loaf, roll, and baguette form). Chef Leslie Mackie's bakery quickly became Seattle's go-to destination for rustic artisanal breads and non-bread goods, and it's now expanded to four cafes. The pastry collection includes apple turnovers made with roasted Washington apples, jam-topped buttermilk biscuits, and bundt-style lemon lavender coffeecake.
The cheerful, family-run Royalicious Bagel Bakery in Charles Town bakes New York-style bagels and Italian pastries and serves up sizable sandwiches and salads. It showcases fresh-baked butter cookies, sweet and crunchy chocolate walnut meringue cookies, chocolate-covered rainbow cookies with raspberry jam, chocolate cigars, and lemony, airy anginetti and Italian wedding cookies for dunking in coffee or tea.
The best sandwiches start with great bread, and Madison Sourdough Bakery & Cafe specializes in naturally leavened breads using Wisconsin-grown wheat, rye, and corn. Daily and specialty breads range from signature MSCo sourdough to a sandwich rye loaf packed with sprouted rye berries. Beyond the bread, it's transformed simple, local farm ingredients into some of the freshest pastries and breakfast and lunch dishes.
Whether you're stopping in for a quick lunch or more leisurely weekend brunch, Persephone Bakery in Jackson is the ideal place to load up on savory snacks and sweet treats. Naturally, the bread pudding French toast, scone skillet, chicken hoagie with melted gruyère, and lattes are best consumed on the perfect little outdoor patio surrounded by mountain scenery.