Whether you want candy, donuts, ice cream, chocolate, pie, cookies, or other desserts, you can find a shop in the U.S. that specializes in satisfying your cravings. From coast to coast, there are shops that make donuts with fresh ingredients and unique flavors, and there are ice cream parlors that serve creatively flavored scoops of homemade ice cream.
If you’re a chocolate lover, you can indulge in handcrafted truffles, bars, and bonbons from chocolatiers, and for those who enjoy candy, there are stores that sell everything from fudge and caramel apples to taffy and nostalgic candy. And for something quick and convenient, you can visit dessert chains that offer consistently good creations like cupcakes, ice cream, donuts, and more.
To find the top spots to indulge, a panel of experts made their selections for the best places to go for desserts and treats across seven categories. To decide the winners, our readers voted for their favorites over a period of four weeks — and the results are in.
Best Candy Store: The Taffy Shop in Estes Park, Colorado
Since 1935, visitors have popped into The Taffy Shop to watch candymakers create the store’s iconic Estes Park Salt Water Taffy. Not only can you get your favorite tried-and-true flavors such as lemon, vanilla, and peppermint, but also daily flavors such as blueberry, chocolate cherry, and orange creamsicle.
Best Chocolate Shop: Pizzelle’s Confections in Huntsville, Alabama
Stop in at Pizzelle’s Confections for chocolate with a Southern twist — Photo courtesy of Lauri Patterson / E+ Getty Images
Made with fair trade Felchlin chocolate, Pizzelle’s Confections look almost too good to eat. Almost. After all, who could resist their eye-catching and uniquely flavored bonbons and chocolate bars that taste as good as they look? For a taste of Alabama, try the Steel Magnolia, crafted with chicory and coffee.
Best Cookie Shop: Grandma’s Cookies on Main in St. Charles, Missouri
Grandma’s Cookies on Main is ready to satisfy your cookie cravings — Photo courtesy of Sara Schulte Photography
Perched just west of the banks of the Missouri River, Grandma’s Cookies on Main offers a wide array of sugary snacks to the St. Louis metro area. Visitors can dine on oatmeal raisin and coconut cookies during a visit, while dairy-free options like snickerdoodle and sugar sprinkle are up for grabs as well.
Perched just west of the banks of the Missouri River, Grandma’s Cookies on Main offers a wide array of sugary snacks to the St. Louis metro area. Visitors can dine on oatmeal raisin and coconut cookies during a visit, while dairy-free options like snickerdoodle and sugar sprinkle are up for grabs as well.
Best Dessert / Treat Chain: Crumbl Cookies
Two cousins tirelessly tested recipes until they created what they thought was the world’s best chocolate chip cookie, and the first Crumbl store debuted in Logan, Utah, in 2017. Expect that award-winning milk chocolate chip cookie on every menu across all 50 states as well as chilled pink sugar cookies and others inspired by desserts like brownies, cake batter, and dulce de leche.
Best Donut Shop: City Donut in Orange Beach, Alabama
Your taste buds will be humming when they see City Donut’s freshly made doughnuts. Choose from traditional yeast or cake doughnuts that come with a variety of flavors, such as key lime-filled, Oreo-topped, maple iced, and many more. To up the decadence, grab a milkshake or boba drink to go with your sweet treat.
Best Ice Cream Shop: An’s Dry Cleaning in San Diego, California
The made-from-scratch gelato flavors at An’s Dry Cleaning are named after fabrics, like taffeta and twill, as an homage to the dry cleaning business that originally inhabited the historic 1934 building. The rotating menu offers options such as mango and peaches, macadamia, and lavender with honey and oats.