The Sweet Spots
Check out our interactive location map to find the most creative ways across the country to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Sugar Porn 19 Photos
Flip through pics of some of the most decadent, mouthwatering desserts money can buy.
Meet the Contributors 16 Photos
These hilarious sugar fiends take the cake (literally –– and then review it).
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Digital-Original Series: Sweetnr
When desserts start using dating apps, crazy mash-ups are born.
The Country's Top 5 Best Desserts 4 Videos
We've rounded-up the best pies, doughnuts, cupcakes and breakfast treats around.
Instagram Dessert Pics Actually Worth Looking At 26 Photos
Episodes
See Episode GuideSomething Old, Something New
Bang Candy Company in Nashville gives the mellow marshmallow a glamorous makeover. Semi Sweet Bakery reinvents familiar homebaked goods into delicious decadence. Wooden Spoon stirs up American classics. Donna Bell's Bake Shop channels the South in their menu, including pie bars and decadent layered cakes.
Colorado Sweets
Colorado has it all: Mountains, lakes and sweets. Head to High Point Creamery in Denver for unusual ice cream flavors like lemon ice pop with raspberry swirl and earl grey tea with shortbread, or have a slice of ice cream cake drizzled with hot fudge. In Boulder, Pizzeria Locale finishes off their dinner menu with three desserts done simply and perfectly. You can order the seasonal biscotti, butterscotch budino, or saltimbocca -- baked pizza dough filled with gooey, melted chocolate-hazelnut spread. And also in Denver, Glaze: They serve German layered cakes called baumkuchen that will amaze and delight your eyes and taste buds.
Sweets All Day Long
Check out three unique places that satisfy any sweet tooth from sunrise to sundown. At the Wandering Goose in Seattle, they push the sweet boundaries with Southern goodies like chocolate chip cookies with toffee and crispy chicken skin. In Fort Worth, Texas, a neighborhood shop called Stir Crazy Baked Goods offers up the most delicious cookies, pies, scones and even quiches. At Bibble and Sip in New York City, you'll find sugary sweet treats with French and Asian influences, like croissant muffins and green tea fudge.
Tasty Texas Treats
We're heading to the Lone Star State to find the tastiest treats in Texas. Hypnotic Donuts in Dallas offers both sweet and savory deep-fried deliciousness in the form of huge fritters and old-fashioned doughnuts. For a chocolate fix, Kate Weiser Chocolate in Dallas crafts decadent bonbons, crazy candy bars and even toffee with bacon. And for fantastical sundaes with unusual flavors, Melt Ice Creams in Fort Worth doesn't disappoint with choices like goat cheese, honey black pepper and roasted strawberries.
Miami Sweets
We're in the sweet spot of the Sunshine State, Miami! The folks at The Salty Donut pride themselves on their buttery 24-hour brioche doughnut dough and have fun with topping combinations like key lime pie and peach bourbon. L.A. Sweetz packs bold Latin flavors in their cupcakes, including tangy margarita and a decadent coconut cake dipped in dark rum and topped with dulce de leche buttercream. And ring the alarm for the pies at Fireman Derek's Bakeshop, which are piled high with layers of chocolate ganache, mousse and an array of sweet and salty toppings.
Sugar High
It's time for the ultimate sugar high. In Miami, Brain Freeze Nitrogen Ice Cream Lab is concocting delicious creations, and offering a mad scientist challenge to eat 30 scoops of ice cream in 30 minutes. At Spot Dessert Bar in New York City, imaginations run wild with their Asian-inspired plated desserts, including a riff on the classic chocolate lava cake featuring an explosion of creamy green tea. And in Southern California, Afters Ice Cream delivers two desserts in one with their donut ice cream sandwiches!
Donuts for Days
Anyway you fry it, America loves donuts, and these three shops are a cut above the rest. There are vegan delights at Donut Friend in Los Angeles, with everything from berries and mint to donut sandwiches; at Underwest Donuts in New York, they prove you can have your Halva Tahini donut and eat it too; In Honolulu, Champion Malasadas serve up Portuguese-style donuts fried to order and covered in sugar.
Exotic
Travel to distant lands from the comfort of a pastry box. Old culinary traditions are made new again at a few of our favorite bakeries, where sweets cross cultural lines and are made personal. Traditions from France and Japan collide at a New York City bakery, a family bakery in Miami brings us South American treats and two Boston shops bring us to Turkey, Morocco and beyond, from adventurous American bakers.
Cool Cookies Sandwiches
There's nothing better than the perfect cookie -- unless you take two of them and put some filling in between! At DC Patisserie they make delicate macaron with delicious American flavors. Milk Cult in Washington, D.C., has a true fan following for their unique ice cream sandwiches. And in New York, an art gallery/spice lab creates little sandwich cookies exploding with flavor.
Excellent European Sweets
Some of the best European Sweets can be found right in the heart of New York City. At Bread's Bakery they have a sweet, pillowy marzipan challah that's simply to die for and theirs a chocolate lover's dream. At Lezzetli Turkish-Style Ice Cream, they're serving up a delicious and chewy version that will challenge everything you know about this frozen treat. And at A.B. Biagi, they're elevating the ice cream sandwich to new heights using authentic gelato and artisanal breads. One bite and you'll never go back to the store bought brand.
Sweet Spins in Austin
In Austin, we find a unique spin on sweet treats at every turn. Sugar Mama's Bakeshop serves up sweet surprises like old-fashioned chocolate malted milkshake cupcakes and shortbread unicorns with edible glitter. Churro Co. is turning churros, the beloved Mexican street treat, into delightful and decadent desserts with toppings like buttery popcorn sugar and vanilla ice cream. And at Gelateria Gemelli, they're using savory flavors like olive oil and herbaceous liqueurs to create gelatos that would delight even the most traditional Italian nonna.
Wild West Sweets
In Denver, it's all about wild sweet creations that always leave the customers coming back for more. The Shoppe is a funky full service cereal bar and bakery. Victory, Love & Cookies crafts works of art in the form of cookies. Sweet Action constantly pushes the flavor boundaries of ice cream. And at Sugar Bakeshop you'll find handcrafted sweets made with care.
Shocking Sweets
We're searching high and low for New York City's most shocking sweets! In Astoria, Queens, an underground doughnut spot called Donut Diva is frying up outrageous cake doughnut creations that will make your jaw drop. At Eggloo in Manhattan's Chinatown, ice cream is generously piled in soft, puffy cones and customers get as many colorful toppings as they want. And Do, Cookie Dough Confections in Murray Hill is breaking all the rules by dishing out ready-to-eat raw cookie dough in a cup.
Big Apple Breakfast
There's no better way to start your day than with one of New York's most unique breakfast treats. At the legendary Doughnut Plant, Mark Isreal makes his signature square doughnuts and his sophisticated alternative to the doughnut hole. At Lafayette, one bite of their luscious creations transports you into a classic French bistro. Then it's off to Wafels & Dinges where they're taking wafels to a whole new level of deliciousness.
Global Sweets
Zucker Bakery is a picture-perfect bakery sharing family traditions with their customers through their cookies. Flour and Tea lures you in with their Taiwanese baked goods with American influences. Stop by Las Paletas for refreshing frozen treats that bursts with flavor! Bien Cuit executes French pastry beautifully, cutting no corners to create the finest sweets in Brooklyn.
Shocking Sweets
We're searching high and low for New York City's most shocking sweets! In Astoria, Queens, an underground doughnut spot called Donut Diva is frying up outrageous cake doughnut creations that will make your jaw drop. At Eggloo in Manhattan's Chinatown, ice cream is generously piled in soft, puffy cones and customers get as many colorful toppings as they want. And Do, Cookie Dough Confections in Murray Hill is breaking all the rules by dishing out ready-to-eat raw cookie dough in a cup.
After School Favorites
Cupcakes, brownies, toaster pastries, ice creams and chocolates -- there's nothing like that sweet treat to snack on when school gets out. These afterschool favorites are breaking all of the traditional rules and winning.
Rise & Shine
From morning pastries to inventive brunch items, we cover the most delicious morning sweets. At Darling Coffee you can get your morning brew paired with delicious handcrafted morning sweets. Clementine Bakery creates vegan pastries that pack major flavor into each bite. Short Cake turns traditional American sweets upside down. Sky Blue Cafe is a hip Nashville brunch spot that will satisfy everyone's craving for pancakes and French toast.
Cool Cookies Sandwiches
There's nothing better than the perfect cookie -- unless you take two of them and put some filling in between! At DC Patisserie they make delicate macaron with delicious American flavors. Milk Cult in Washington, D.C., has a true fan following for their unique ice cream sandwiches. And in New York, an art gallery/spice lab creates little sandwich cookies exploding with flavor.
Brunch
There are those who order a savory brunch and there are those that go for gusto with something decadent and sweet. We're catering to the sweet tooth by visiting hotspots that take a sweet brunch very seriously and turn it into something utterly unique.
Brooklyn
We step off the island and head deep into the heart of Brooklyn to find the best sweets this New York City borough has to offer. Inspired by her Mexican heritage, Chef Fany Gerson pushes flavor combinations with hibiscus, passion fruit and even horchata in her doughnuts at Dough. Ample Hills Creamery whips up small batch artisanal ice cream in flavors like caramel, honey and breakfast cereal. Ovenly is combining salty and sweet with a touch of spice to craft cookies and cakes. At Robicelli's, familiar desserts like cheese platters, and root beer floats are packaged into cute cupcakes.
Italian
La dolce vita, with a twist. We take a tour through New York and visit bakeries that have unique takes on classic Italian sweets. We discover dipped artisanal cannoli, uniquely flavored creamy tiramisu, gelato gone wild and uniquely Italian doughnuts.
Exotic
Travel to distant lands from the comfort of a pastry box. Old culinary traditions are made new again at a few of our favorite bakeries, where sweets cross cultural lines and are made personal. Traditions from France and Japan collide at a New York City bakery, a family bakery in Miami brings us South American treats and two Boston shops bring us to Turkey, Morocco and beyond, from adventurous American bakers.
European Sweets
Today we're getting a sweet taste of Europe in the U.S.! In Atlanta the Little Tart Bakeshop rolls out decadently traditional French pastries. In New York City, the extremely popular Italian restaurant Maialino proves why you must save room for dessert. And finally, Nielsen's Pastries in Seattle serves some of the most delightful and unique Scandinavian treats, with recipes that have barely changed since its Danish owner settled there.
Game Changers
Visit three of New York's game changers, putting a new spin on old favorites. At Dominique Ansel Kitchen, time is the secret ingredient: desserts are made to order instead of ahead of time. At Good Batch, a passion for cookies has evolved into groundbreaking ice cream sandwiches, like the deconstructed candy bar called the Macaroon Ice Cream Sandwich. And the frozen desserts at Snow Days make childhood dreams come true: feathery shavings of flavored frozen creams in inventive flavor combinations.
Coffee Break
We found the most unique sweets to suit your morning cup o' Joe. Abraco's morning pastries are packed with bold flavors like black sesame cardamom spiced cake and saffron sugar babka. Crespella adds a taste of Italy to your coffee with their crepes flavored and topped with tiramisu and cannoli. Bang Bang Pie in Chicago bakes decadent pies, from blueberry to a frozen sage lemon summer pie. Angel Food Bakery in Minneapolis serves donut bread pudding and tres leche cupcakes.
Sugar Central
