The Sweet Spots
Check out our interactive location map to find the most creative ways across the country to satisfy your sweet tooth.
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Flip through pics of some of the most decadent, mouthwatering desserts money can buy.
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These hilarious sugar fiends take the cake (literally –– and then review it).
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We've rounded-up the best pies, doughnuts, cupcakes and breakfast treats around.
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Episodes
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We visit pastry chefs who take time-honored traditions from their past and turn them into something new and unique. From a cafe with all the sweet traditions of the South, to a "sweetery" serving up childhood favorites, plus traditional treats made with untraditional ingredients.
Seattle Sweets
We visit three hot spots of Seattle's food scene beginning with Fran's Chocolates, which pioneered European-style handmade confections when it opened in 1982 and is now a beloved Seattle institution. Dahlia Bakery is one of legendary Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas's creations and serves up some of the most incredible pie and doughnuts in the city. Finally we'll stop at Crumble & Flake, a tiny bakery taking familiar pastries to daring new directions.
Capital Cravings
We visit some of the eateries that satisfy the sweet cravings of Washington, D.C.'s power brokers. First stop: GBD, which stands for "Golden Brown Delicious" -- the perfect way to describe the unique doughnuts at this hotspot. At Cupcakes Actually, the shelves are stocked with 10 varieties of this sweet treat daily, including its signature dipped cupcakes. And we'll sample the refreshing artisan gelato at Dolcezza, which combines local ingredients, old-world methods, and innovative flavors.
Sweet Peanut
These sweet shops showcase peanut butter in all its versatility and glory. Treats Truck Stop is a kid-friendly neighborhood bakery in Brooklyn. Two Smart Cookies whips up cookies that taste just like home, including the popular peanut butter hideaway. Capital City Bakery is a vegan food truck that spreads joy and peanut butter love all over Austin, Texas. In East Nashville, Pied Piper Creamery has created over a hundred flavors, and those flavored with peanut butter take the cake in terms of creativity.
Southern Sweets in Atlanta
Southern desserts are in a category all to their own, combining big bold flavors with deep tradition. Like at Sublime Doughnuts, where the doughnuts and fritters are made with a sweet potato dough and come in fun shapes with decadent flavor combinations. CamiCakes Creamery turns traditional Southern desserts like red velvet cake and lemon meringue pie into ice cream cake sandwiches. Pie Shop keeps with tradition and preserves the craft of pie making with favorites like Georgia Bourbon Pecan and Pineapple Chess Pie.
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.
Breakfast Sweets
Of bakeries and brunches from the Pacific Northwest to New York City, we've found the best reasons to roll out of bed in the morning. Think outside the toaster and try a warm slice of brioche sweetened with almond paste and homemade almond syrup, a hand-forged donut, a towering stack of peanut-butter filled chocolate waffles, or a coffee cake made just for you (with a single-drip artisan coffee brew to match).
Breakfast Pastries
Nothing beats waking up in the morning to the scent of hot buttery sweet pastries. And these breakfast pastries from Oregon, California, New York and Connecticut are unlike anything you've had before. Once that morning coffee kicks in, you'll need to dig in.
Morning Munchies
We're going on an ocean-hopping journey from Hawaii to the mainland for some magnificent morning munchies. We start with sweet unique ways to add fruits and veggies to your morning meal with a tropical Breakfast Bruschetta, Blue Corn Zucchini Bread, and a Strawberry Mint Hand Pie that will have you practically jumping out of bed. Next, a dizzying array of donuts from Glazed, Chocolate Malasadas, Apple Fritters, and a Donut Cake! If you're wanting something a little lighter, cozy up to some Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crisps or a multigrain Muesli Toast with nuts, berries, honey and green-tea custard.
Sweet Treats in NYC
We're on the hunt for the best sweet treats New York City has to offer. Sweets by Chloe is a cute vegan bakeshop that's creating giant cookies and fudge cakes that are rich and moist, creamy and chocolatey. Daly Pie in Brooklyn Heights has a mouthwatering lineup, but one pie loaded with peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut and potato chips that has everyone talking. And Brigadeiro Bakery brings international flair to Soho with their chocolate truffle-like confections.
Sweet Bay Area Bites
These are the best unique sweets in the San Francisco Bay area. Head over the Bay Bridge to Oakland, and you'll find out why people are raving about the pies at Pietisserie. You'll fall in love with the the ruby red Beet Pie or the eye-popping Chantilly Chocolate Cream Layered Pie. Then, find out why people line up at the crack of dawn just to get their fix of Cruffins at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. It's a mash-up of a croissant and a muffin, and it's stuffed with decadent creamy fillings. Finally, Donut Savant, where they're frying up fresh mini doughnuts all day long. Try the Chocolate Frosted with Hole which is a two-for-one favorite: thick chocolate glaze on a vanilla yeast doughnut, complete with a vanilla-glazed doughnut hole placed back in the middle.
Sweet Americana
Mojo Monkey pays tribute to iconic American sweets through their dynamic doughhuts. Brooklyn Farmacy is a soda shop that pours out a funky collection of housemade nostalgic fountain treats. Chicago Diner creates classic diner desserts that taste so divine and decadent you can't even tell they're vegan! Teaspoon Bakeshop takes pride in creating their modern American sweets.
Nod To Nostalgia
Some of the most amazing treats are the ones that take a classic dessert and give it a modern twist. At Shakedown ice cream parlor in San Francisco, all the flavors of a German chocolate cake are enjoyed in a whole new (drinkable) way. And a classic ice cream flavor gets an upgrade in Banana Cookies and Cream, In Portland, Ore., Palace Cakes purees an entire orange with carrots for its unique four-layer carrot cake. And Elsie's Parlor in Brooklyn uses an old family recipe as the springboard for its innovative doughnuts, like the brown-butter-dipped Cannella al Burro and the Black and White Doughnut, which takes its inspiration from the classic New York cookie.
Toronto Sweets
We head north of the border to Toronto, Canada, where the childhood favorite of milk and cookies are taken to a whole new level at Moo Milk Bar, which offers a variety of classic and signature cookies that can be paired with their all-natural flavored milks. Glory Hole Doughnuts specializes in artisanal yeast doughnuts made with all-natural ingredients like the Lemon Ricotta Doughnut. Clafouti Patisserie is known for their exceptional croissants and we check out one of their inventive treats calleda crookie.
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.
Maine Squeeze Sweets
We're heading to picture-perfect Maine for some soul-satisfying treats. Starting at Scratch Baking Co. in South Portland, we dive into the perfect breakfast pastry, the Toaster Jam Scone. For an afternoon snack, try the Concord Grape and Peanut Butter Snack Cake, or their real showstopper -- the Movie Night Cake. At Wicked Whoopies in Freeport, they're taking the official state treat and turning it a massive five-pound whoopie pie. And if you have a hankering for something cool, look no further than Catbird Creamery, where they whip up some out-of-this-world ice cream, like Tamari Caramel with soy sauce!
Sweet Twists on American Classics
These special spots are putting sweet spins on American classics. The Doughnut Project in New York City offers savory-meets-sweet doughnuts, including a doughnut crossed with an everything bagel, and a chocolate cream doughnut flavored with bone marrow. In Miami, Sweetness Bake Shop gives childhood favorites tropical Latin twists, like a cinnamon-spice doughnut filled with dulce de leche and topped in chocolate frosting and a crispy churro. At The Dirty Cookie in Tustin, Calif., milk and cookies combine in edible cookie shot glasses!
Chocolate
When it comes to sweets, chocolate is king. And it inspires chefs to reach new heights with amazingly chocolatey dishes. At Petsi Pies in Somerville, Mass., the indulgences begin with pie crusts made from ground chocolate cookies, and goes on to include Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Pie and an incomparable Mississippi Mud Pie.Bean-to-bar chocolatiers French Broad Chocolates in Ashville, N.C., create the addictive Chocolate Mocha Stout cake, then ups the ante with the thick and creamy Maple and Smoked Sea Salt Liquid Truffle. And Roni-Sue's Chocolate's on New York City's Lower East Side started a movement with its Pig Candy: crispy slices of fried bacon dipped in chocolate.
Classic Twists
We discover classics desserts that have been pushed into uncharted territory. Pies and cakes turned into cookies, ice cream made from goat's milk, salt water taffy that stretches the rules and pies that are renowned -- and served raw.
Chicago Sweet Spots
Spend a weekend exploring all that Chicago has to offer. Salted Caramel challenges the idea of what makes for a sweet treat. Lovely Bakeshop is serving a little bit of Southern comfort with homey breakfast pastries. Southport Grocery and Cafe experiments with the best ingredients to create inventive brunch treats. And a small but focused menu at Waffles makes for exciting flavor combinations.
Neighborhood Gems
These are the places that everyone flocks to for desserts they can't get anywhere else. Homemade pies that fly off the shelves, ice creams that people stand in line for late at night and unique spiced cakes that tickle the taste buds. These are neighborhood gems that sparkle.
Sweetlandia
We're traveling to Portland, Ore., to discover some of the city's most scrumptious and satisfying treats. We start at Bushel and Peck Bakeshop, where the sweet and tart Marionberry Mint Muffin is a perfect way to start your day and the Double Chocolate Squash Scone with Espresso Maple Glaze is a great afternoon pick-me-up. Plus, if you're in the mood for a seriously sinful treat, try the Pretzel Almond Caramel Bar. Next, follow us to The Cakery for some of the prettiest -- and tallest -- cakes we've seen. The Pink Cake looks sweet and angelic, but one bite of this cake reveals a deliciously naughty chocolate center. And explore your love of lemon one layer at a time with the Lovely Lemon Cake. And at Palmetto Cafe, the Coconut Bundt Cake takes carrot cake to the tropics for a fantastically flavorful luau, featuring special guests coconut, pineapple and, the star of the show, purple heirloom carrots.
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.
Portland Sweets
Portland is at the forefront of the food scene using local ingredients with a unique spin. Quin Candy is a perfect example making nostalgic sweets with a sophisticated twist using ingredients like marionberries and creamed infused with ground popcorn. The creator of Stumptown Coffee is behind the city's latest gem, the Roman Candle Baking Company. The delectable breakfast treats and artisanal pastries have the same attention to detail and quality that made the coffee such a success. Kyra's Bakeshop serves up indulgent cupcakes that are also gluten-free.
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.
Sweet Crafters
We meet some of America's most imaginative food crafters churning out sweet treats. Nashville's Olive & Sinclair makes artisanal chocolates and brittles with a Southern twist. Suck it Sweets & Treats creates cool popsicles and frozen desserts on a stick. It's all about having choices at Coolhaus where customers get to create their own ice cream sandwich combinations. At Culture, fresh and frozen yogurt desserts step into the spotlight.
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