My recent trip to New York City was filled with lots of tasty foods and if you know me at all, you know I am all about the sweets! I did a lot of research before going to New York City and am happy to share with you all, my favorite sweet spots in the city. Trust me, there were a couple of spots that I wanted to go to but because I can only eat so many cookies before going into a diabetic coma, I didn’t get a chance to go to them. I plan on going to New York City again so if there are any bakery spots or food places, in general, you want to recommend, let a sista know! I also wrote a post that includes my Favorite Thrift Stores in Manhattan so be sure to check it out! Or check out the travel section of my blog to see all my travel posts!
Doughnut Plant
Doughnut Plant invented the crème brûlée doughnut so of course, we had to try it. We ended up getting a creme brulee doughnut, pistachio doughnut, strawberry doughnut, rose doughnut, strawberry doughnut, and a cinnamon roll doughnut. The Rose doughnut was a little pricey at $5 but, I had never tasted something like that before. It was a traditional yeast doughnut glazed with a combination of donut icing and rosewater. The crème brûlée doughnut was also delicious. The inside custard reminded me of acrème brûlée and the hard sugar outside added a really nice touch. We weren’t too impressed with the other doughnuts we got but they have many different options on their menu that include both cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts.
The crème brûlée doughnut on the left and the rose doughnut on the right.
Ladurée
French macarons are one of my favorite desserts and even though I’ve been to Ladurée before, I couldn’t help but go again in New York City. I’ve had many French macarons but somehow, Ladurée manages to make the best french macaron I’ve ever had. They’re definitely not cheap but boy are they good. I wanted to try one of their French pastries but since we had just eaten at Dominique Ansel Bakery, I couldn’t imagine eating another rich pastry again.
Waffles and Dinges
We came across Waffles & Dinges while we were walking around Central Park and I’m so glad we did. The smell from the stand took me back to my trip to Europe and the Belgian waffles tasted almost good as eating them in Belgium. They offer a wide range of toppings and you can eat it on the go. We got a strawberry and whipped cream waffle and a speculoos waffle and I’m honestly drooling right now talking about it.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
The whole reason we went to Dominique Ansel Bakery was because they invented the cronut. Once we went in and saw all the other delicious pastries we couldn’t help ourselves but order a bunch of other pastries. Of course, we got a cronut in the flavor of the month, which happened to be a strawberry and cream flavor but, we also got Nutella pastry, a DKA, a peanut butter and jam pastry, and an almond pastry. The Cronut was so much better than I had imagined and I highly recommend getting one. I also recommend getting a DKA, or five. They’re soft and flakey in the center but kind of hard and sweet on the outside. If you can, try to get there early and also on a weekday otherwise you’ll be waiting in line to get your hands on a cronut during the weekend.
Love at first sight looking at a cronut. On the right, a DKA and almond pastry.
Milkbar
Before we went to New York City, I watched the Netflix episode of Chef’s Table with Christina Tosi, the creator of Milk Bar. I heard about Milkbar before but, it wasn’t until after I watched the Chef’s Table that I was dying to go there. While we were there we got three cookies, Birthday Cake Truffles, Crack Pie, and Cereal Milk soft serve. When I tasted the Cereal Milk soft serve, I was instantly taken back to being five years old, sitting at the breakfast table, eating a bowl of cereal, watching cartoons on the weekend. The Crack Pie was also really good but a little too rich for me. The cookies were also both hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Before we left New York City, we stopped at Milkbar one last time and I got some cookies and Birthday Cake Truffles to bring back to Florida.
The original Milkbar Cereal Milk soft serve with cereal. Right, my mom and I eating Cereal Milk soft serve.
Magnolia Bakery
Magnolia Bakery is also a must if you’re in New York City. They are most well known for their cupcakes and banana pudding. When I was there we got an order of banana pudding, two cupcakes, and a Blueberry Jamboree Icebox Dessert. The banana pudding was the best banana pudding I have ever had and I live in the South so that’s saying something. It wasn’t heavy like the traditional banana pudding that I’ve had, it almost seemed like it was a combination of pudding and whipped cream because it was on the lighter side. The cupcake was also really good but, if you’re going to get one thing here, get the banana pudding.
I was so excited to try Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding that I put too much in my mouth.
Levain Bakery
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to Levain Bakery while I was in New York City but a co-worker who was in New York City the week after me brought me back some cookies from the bakery so I got to try some. Let me tell you I am so sad that I wasn’t able to try them while I was in New York City, fresh out of the oven. Even though they were a day old, they were still incredibly delicious and I honestly can’t imagine how they must have tasted fresh out of the oven. The cookies were nice and hard on the outside yet, soft and doughy on the inside. Needless to say, they are 100% worth $4 and worth the wait.
