Best of NH 2023 Desserts, Ice Cream Stands, Coffee & Bakeries
Craving something sweet? Maybe a big scoop of creamy ice cream or a delicious French pastry? Here's where to indulge your sweet tooth, from baked goods to shaved ice, plus where to find coffee to wash it all down.
Editor’s Picks
Boutique Bakery
Cakes, macarons, monster cookies and jumbo cupcakes? Don’t mind if we do. Christy Skinner creates Mystic Sugar Bakery masterpieces at her North Conway shop where you can delight in enchanted forest décor while sampling a variety of fairy-tale-inspired treats. Unique cupcake flavors like Enchanted Forest, a chocolate-filled cake with tart sweet cherries, vanilla buttercream and dark chocolate ganache, and cookie flavors like campfire s’mores and peanut butter and jelly are Hansel and Gretel-like breadcrumbs leading you back for more. www.mysticsugarbakery.com
Old Country Coffee Haus
Kaffee Vonsolln, an Old World German-style café located on Daniel Street in Portsmouth since 2011, serves fresh roasted coffee from around the globe and is the sole coffee roaster left in downtown Portsmouth. The café’s ambiance and décor transport patrons to a streetside coffee house in Berlin or Munich as they enjoy fine pastries like German strudels and Bienenstiches. The café also has outdoor dining and sliding glass windows that allow patrons to enjoy the fresh air during the warmer months. A woman-owned café purchased in 2016 by a mom-dad-and-daughter team, Vonsolln enjoys a great local and national following with people all over the country ordering their esteemed beans. www.kaffeevonsolln.com
French Pastries
http://www.cremeuxfrenchpatisserie.com/
Alexandre Waddell, the chef and owner of Crémeux French Patisserie in Merrimack, brings a full knowledge and experience of learning his craft in Paris to New Hampshire. While there are plenty of cafés that serve pastries and sweets, Céemeux takes it’s a step further thanks to its owner. Besides macarons, eclairs and croissants, patrons can enjoy specialty items such as Verrine Tropicale and Tarte Tatin, fresh baked French breads and delightful Viennoiserie coupled with authentic French gourmet coffees and teas in a cozy café setting. Don’t forget about their selection of Belgium chocolates, which Waddell calls “the best in the world.” www.cremeuxfrenchpatisserie.com
Shaved Ice
In our state’s fast-growing food truck community, PEAKS Food Truck offers something special: REAL shaved ice. Unlike the crushed ice “snow cone” version, authentic Hawaiian shaved ice creates softer, flakier textures to deliver flavor to tastebuds with maximum impact. PEAKS hand-cranks their own ice and makes syrups from local fruits, honey and maple syrup. They also offer a variety of international “street foods” (like Filipino lumpia, bao buns, Korean fried chicken, falafel wraps and chicken tikka naan) scratch-made with local ingredients. Find them at Wolfeboro’s weekly (and excellent) farmers market, where they’re consummate regulars. www.peaksfoodtruck.com
Super-Cool Candy
Freeze dried candy is basically just candy with its extra moisture removed, enhancing its sweetness and flavors and giving it a lighter crunch. But why read about it when you can sample it yourself? Granite State Freeze Dried Candy operates a family-owned production facility in Manchester and is known for good customer service (a lot of their orders are for gifts). Their business plan took flight when owner Ed Wachenfeld started sharing his candy obsession on TikTok. Ed’s energy and the colorful array of treats were irresistible. Soon orders were flying in for freeze-dried gummie worms, jelly beans, Jolly Ranchers and such. granitestatefreezedriedcandies.com
Readers’ Poll Winners
Bakery
Overall winner
Bearded Baking Co.
Manchester
www.beardedbaking.com
Overall winner Multilocation Regional
Frederick’s Pastries
Amherst & Bedford
www.pastry.net
Bakery Concord Area
The Crust & Crumb Baking Co.
Concord
www.thecrustandcrumb.com
Bakery Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Blue Loon Bakery
New London
www.blueloonbakery.com
Bakery Great North Woods Region
Polish Princess Bakery
Lancaster
www.polishprincessbakery.com
Bakery Lakes Region
Basic Ingredients
Bristol
www.basicingredientsnh.com
Bakery Manchester Area
Black Forest Café & Bakery
Amherst
www.theblackforestcafe.com
Bakery Monadnock Region
Eat More Cake
Keene
www.eatmorecake.org
Bakery Nashua Area
Buckley’s Bakery & Café
Merrimack
www.buckleysbakerycafe.com
Bakery Salem Area
Klemm’s Bakery
Windham
www.klemmsbakery.com
Bakery Seacoast Region
Harvey’s Bakery & Coffee Shop
Dover
www.harveysbakery.com
Bakery White Mountains Region
Leavitt’s Country Bakery
Conway
www.facebook.com/LeavittsBakery
★★★★★★★
Coffee Roaster
Blue Harbor Coffee Co.
Hampton
www.blueharborcoffee.com
Coffee Roaster Multilocation Local
A&E Coffee & Tea
Amherst
www.aeroastery.com
★★★★★★★
Coffee Shop
Overall winner
Blue Harbor Coffee Co.
Hampton
www.blueharborcoffee.com
Coffee Shop Concord Area
Revelstoke Coffee
Concord
www.revelstokecoffee.com
Coffee Shop Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Lucky’s Coffee Garage
Lebanon
www.luckyscoffeegarage.com
Coffee Shop Great North Woods Region
The Granite Grind
Lancaster
www.facebook.com/thegranitegrind
Coffee Shop Lakes Region
Wayfarer Coffee Roasters
Laconia
www.wayfarerroasters.com
Coffee Shop Manchester Area
O’Shea’s Caife & Tae
Londonderry
www.osheasnh.com
Coffee Shop Monadnock Region
Union Coffee Company
Milford
www.unioncoffee.co
Coffee Shop Nashua Area
Riverwalk Bakery & Café
Nashua
www.riverwalknashua.com
Coffee Shop Salem Area
Farmhouse Roasters
Salem
www.farmhouseroasters.com
Coffee Shop Seacoast Region
Caffe Kilim
Portsmouth
www.caffekilim.com
Coffee Shop White Mountains Region
Metropolitan Coffee House
North Conway
www.metcoffeehouse.com
★★★★★★★
Ice Cream
Overall winner Lago’s Ice Cream
Rye
www.lagosicecream.com
Ice Cream Concord Area
Johnson’s Dairy Bar
Northwood
Facebook
Ice Cream Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Sanctuary Dairy Farm Ice Cream
Sunapee
www.icecreamkidbeck.com
Ice Cream Great North Woods Region
Moose Alley Cones
Pittsburg
Facebook
Ice Cream Lakes Region
Jordan’s Ice Creamery
Belmont
www.facebook.com/jordansic
Ice Cream Manchester Area
Moo’s Place Homemade Ice Cream
Derry
www.moosplace.com
Ice Cream Monadnock Region
Walpole Creamery
Walpole
www.walpolecreamery.com
Ice Cream Monadnock Region Multilocation Regional
Kimball Farm
Jaffrey
www.kimballfarm.com
Ice Cream Nashua Area
The Big 1 Ice Cream Stand
Nashua
www.thebig1icecream.com
Ice Cream Nashua Area Multilocation Local
Hayward’s Ice Cream
Nashua
www.haywardsicecream.com
Ice Cream Salem Area
Jay Gee’s Ice Cream
Salem
www.jaygees.com
Ice Cream Seacoast Region
Annabelle’s Natural Ice Cream
Portsmouth
www.annabellesicecream.com
Ice Cream Seacoast Region Multilocation local
The Beach Plum
North Hampton and Portsmouth
www.thebeachplum.net
Ice Cream White Mountains Region
Super Secret Ice Cream
Bethlehem
www.supersecreticecream.com
★★★★★★★
Cakes
Jacques Fine European Pastries
Pembroke
www.jacquespastries.com
Cakes Multilocation Regional
Frederick’s Pastries
Amherst and Bedford
www.pastry.net
★★★★★★★
Chocolatier
Van Otis
Manchester
www.vanotis.com
★★★★★★★
Cupcakes
Queen City Cupcakes
Manchester
www.qccupcakes.com
