There’s lots of things to celebrate during the holidays — friends, family, health, wealth, and most of all: the unspoken understanding that we get to gorge ourselves on as much food + sweets as possible before New Year’s resolutions kick us in the butt. Or is that just me?
Luckily all of our KCtoday readers ended up on the nice list this year, meaning we can prepare your present early. It’s time to Create-Your-Own Cookie Tin.
Browse these 12 local bakeries and their tasty offerings, choose four of your favorites in this survey + we’ll share the most popular sweet selections.
Blackhole Bakery | Featured: Mochi Donuts | 5531 Troost Ave., KCMO | Come for the fabulous French pastries, stay for some of the Midwest’s best Mochi donuts. Pre-orders are closed, so stop by in person to swipe up their chocolate babka or brioche orange buns.
Bootleg Bourbon Balls | Featured: Bourbon Balls | Pick-up only | Need your holiday treats packed with something special? How about these chocolate-y confections made with high-proof spirits from regional distilleries.
Brown Suga | Featured: Cookies | Pick-up or delivery | Spark a sense of “everyday celebration” with these soft, fresh-baked cookies from a local Black + woman-owned business.
Cupcakes A La Mode | Featured: Cupcakes | Multiple locations | Is it too late to add 20 different flavors of gourmet cupcakes and made-from-scratch icing to my wish list?
Dolce Bakery | Featured: Chocolate Espresso Tortes| 3930 W. 69th Ter., Prairie Village, KS | With beautifully decorated cakes, cookies, gingerbread and more — you better wrap these treats up quick or they won’t make it through the car ride home.
Elvira’s Cakes | Featured: Chocolate-covered Strawberries| 3838 Independence Ave., KCMO | Elvira’s specializes in specialty decorated cakes with a delicious selection of Mexican pastries + desserts.
Heirloom Bakery & Hearth | Featured: Stollen Bread | 401 E. 63rd St., KCMO | This bakery offers garden-fresh food alongside their collection of sweet treats. Their holiday offering? Traditional German Christmas treat, Stollen bread — full of marzipan, candied almonds and brandy butter.
McClain’s Bakery | Featured: Butter Cookies| Multiple locations | Get your holiday version of this bite-sized Kansas City classic.
Scola’s Italian Cookies | Featured: | 8002 N. Oak Trfy. Suite 105, KCMO | If you’re craving the best lobster tails the metro has to offer, head on over to Scola’s for original Italian cookies + pastries.
Slow Rise | Featured: Donuts | Pop-up | Keep an eye on its calendar, this mouth-watering, Lawrence-based sourdough donut bakery stops into the West Bottoms from time to time.
Sweet Petites KC | Featured: Sugar Cookies | 108 E. Missouri Ave., KCMO | Create your own cookies with their virtual Holiday Cookie Workshop for decorating tips, recipes and everything else you need to make cookies are almost too good-looking to eat. Almost.
The Upper Crust | Featured: Cranberry Pecan Pie | 7943 Santa Fe Dr., Overland Park, KS | Sure, it may be hard to fit in a cookie tin but what’s to stop us from trying? This shop bakes fresh pies daily, but stop in soon — they plan to be all sold out before Saturday.
