J's Bakery, Craft and more: 13 places to quell any sweet tooth in Pensacola
Where can you find the best cheesecake or doughnut in Pensacola?
That's a complicated question because, believe it or not, Pensacola is packed with places to get amazing desserts and pastries.
We've put together a list of 13 places to quell your sweet tooth .
Looking for something cold?: Stay cool this summer with your favorite ice cream, custard
Chrisoula’s Cheesecake Shoppe and Café
Where: 236 W. Garden St. #2A
Chrisoula’s is an award-winning cheesecake shop that offers a rotating cast of fresh and unique flavors. These cheesecakes are mini, though made-to-order whole cheesecakes are available with about a two day turnaround. Some of the signature flavors are amaretto, banana pudding, black forest, Oreo, peanut butter and more.
Craft Gourmet Bakery
Where: 5555 N. Davis Highway
Chances are pretty high that you’ve had something from Craft whether you’ve known it or not. The bakery makes many of the buns found in restaurants like Union Public House and Brown Bagger Food Truck. The bakery takes its food personally, crafting its creations with the same passion you might make to share with loved ones.
The menu is pretty huge and offers a lot of variety. You’ll find fresh bread and pastries baked daily, some of which include a chai cinnamon bun, scones and herb and garden focaccia. For desserts, it offers French macarons on Friday, roulade in rotating flavors, panna cotta, mocha tortes and more.
Smallcakes of Pensacola
Where: 5046 Bayou Blvd.
Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery is a national chain with over 200 locations all over the place. There are 12 signature flavors that are baked every morning plus specialty and seasonal flavors available like maple bacon, caramel crunch, cannoli and more.
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Where: 501 E. Gregory St.
Nothing Bundt Cakes is a chain bakery that has 430 locations spanning the United States and Canada. The cakes are handcrafted in every bakery, topped with the company’s signature cream cheese frosting. There are 8- and 10-inch cakes available along with tiered cakes and bundlets, which are essentially cupcakes. Flavors include pumpkin spice, red velvet, vanilla, chocolate chip cookie and more.
Maynard’s Donuts
Where: 875 E. Nine Mile Road, #9
Maynard’s Donuts is a locally-owned doughnut shop that offers unique flavors of Southern Maid doughnuts, hand-rolled kolaches and even freshly roasted coffees. Some flavors include s’mores, apple pie, blueberry cheesecake and more.
J’s Bakery and Café
Where: 2014 N. 12th Ave.
J’s Bakery and Café is probably Pensacola’s most well-known bakery. The pastry shop has served the Pensacola area since 1946, offering classic petit fours, chocolate bars, creme horns and smiley face cookies. Now you can grab breakfast and lunch in addition to the pastries.
Bluejay’s Bakery
Where: 11 Palafox Place
Bluejay’s Bakery specializes in one thing: Delighting your sweet tooth with delicious crafts. For breakfast, you can grab muffins, scones, cruffins, cinnamon rolls, fruit tarts and more. Desserts include cake pops, chocolate tarts, truffles, brownies, cookies and more. And if you have a special occasion coming up, custom cakes can be made for any need.
Parlor Doughnuts
Where: 120 Palafox Place
Parlor Doughnuts is a franchise that specializes in craft doughnuts and coffee and unique bakery items. The doughnuts are unique in that they are layered and can be made to be vegan, gluten-friendly and keto-friendly. What is a layered doughnut? It’s layers of buttery dough that is fried on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. There are over 20 different flavors of doughnuts offered.
Peterbrooke Chocolatier Pensacola
Where: 112 Palafox Place
Peterbrooke is a chocolatier franchise that is set up right in the middle of downtown Pensacola. Walking inside gives off Willy Wonka vibes as you peruse the shelves full of chocolate dinosaurs, hand-dipped milk chocolate Oreos, cat tails and more.
Crumbl Cookies
Where: 1670 E. Nine Mile Road
Do you like big cookies? What about cookies smothered in peanut butter or topped with a swirl of cake batter? If your mouth is watering just thinking about these delectable treats then you should hit up Crumbl Cookies ASAP. The franchise specializes in a weekly rotation of milk chocolate cookies, so every visit can be completely unique.
Szotski’s Cheesecakes
Where: 2600 W. Nine Mile Road
Szotski’s Cheesecakes is another local cheesecake-driven shop that offers over 200 varieties of mini-cheesecakes. The cheesecakes are made in small batches, so you won’t find all 200 flavors when you walk inside the shop. Nine flavors are always in stock, like traditional cheesecakes, key lime cheesecakes and Bushwacker cheesecakes. Limited specialty flavors change every week, and you can find savory, keto-friendly and gluten-free cakes, too.
Lickin Good Donuts
Where: Several locations throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties
There are about 13 Lickin Good Donut locations spread across Escambia County, Santa Rosa County and Alabama. However, the brand is all locally owned. Lickin Good offers a variety of pastries, such as cinnamon twists and apple fritters, and even branches out into breakfast sandwiches and dessert items like a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and eclairs.
Coastal Mini Donuts
Where: 1449 W. Nine Mile Road
Coastal Mini Donuts is a brand new doughnut shop that offers a completely customizable line of miniature doughnuts. The doughnuts are made to order and start with customers using a dry erase marker and laminated order sheet to pick which flavors they want from a list of icings, toppings and drizzles.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: J's Bakery, Craft: 13 places to quell any sweet tooth in Pensacola
