The 13 Best Places For Desserts in Southern California (2024)
Want to know all the best places for desserts in Southern California? We’ve got you covered with these hidden gems.
Best Places For Desserts in Southern California
Southern California is a foodies paradise from authentic Mexican and Asian cuisine, to the fine dining all the celebrities enjoy.
Locals also tend to have a sweet tooth, so here are the best places for desserts in Southern California.
1. 85°C Bakery Cafe
This bakery has over 1000 locations worldwide and opened its first US store in Irvine back in 2008.
They have several locations all over Southern California. Their vision is to offer premium coffee, bread, and cake at affordable prices.
We’ve been to a couple different locations and like to try different items each time. We have yet to come across a treat we didn’t like.
They have a huge variety, so there is definitely something for everybody. It’s not pictured, but I highly recommend their Oolong Tea.
2. Bagels & Brew
I had been following this place on Instagram since I moved to California in 2016 and had never been until a couple Summers ago.
For every holiday they do themed bagels. Year round they also have their multi-colored “unicorn bagels” that they are well-known for.
Last year we went for the 4th of July to get these super pretty red, white, and blue bagels and it completely lived up to all my expectations.
They even had cream cheese filling with red and blue sprinkles!
More recently, we’ve visited for Valentine’s Day and Halloween! They have tons of other options that aren’t holiday related, including the cheesy jalapeno bagel pictured above.
There are currently 2 locations: 1 in Lake Forest and 1 in Mission Viejo.
3. Claim Jumper
This dessert is called the “Chocolate Motherlode Cake”.
On the menu it is described as “SIX decadent layers of chocolate cake and rich fudge icing, topped with walnuts. Featured on the Food Network as one of America’s Top 5 Most Decadent Desserts”.
This is a photo of when we ordered it to go so that we could have some dessert at home for a few nights. It is a chocolate lover’s heaven.
Though Claim Jumper has 15 locations in California, it is not exclusive to this area.
They also have 3 restaurants in Arizona, 2 in Illinois, 1 in Louisiana, 4 in Nevada, 2 in Oregon, 1 in Tennessee, and 2 in Washington.
4. Diddy Riese Cookies
Location: 926 Broxton Ave, Westwood, CA 90024
This is going to be the cheapest snack you ever eat in your life!
Cookies are just 50 CENTS EACH! They are made from scratch all day, everyday.
Flavors include candy chocolate chip, chocolate chip, chocolate chip walnut, chocolate white chocolate, double chocolate, oatmeal raisin walnut, peanut butter, sugar cinnamon, white chocolate, and white chocolate macadamia.
In addition to just cookies, you can also build your own ice cream sandwich for just $3.00 EACH!
You can pick any of the cookie flavors mentioned above and choose from the following ice cream flavors:
butter pecan, chocolate, chocolate chip, cookie dough, cookies & cream, espresso chip, mint chocolate chip, peanut butter cup, rocky road, strawberry, mocha almond fudge, and vanilla bean.
They also offer ice cream sundaes for only $2.75.
You can choose any scoop of ice cream and they’ll add whipped cream, chocolate, and caramel syrup.
For just 25 cents more you can make it a cookie sundae and add any cookie flavor.
Ice cream by itself goes for $2.00 for 1 scoop, $3.00 for 2 scoops, and $4.00 for 3 scoops!
If you don’t want cookies or ice cream, they also have fudge brownies for $1.00 EACH!
You can get a half dozen for only $4.50 or a dozen for $8.50.
Lastly, they also offer Hawaiian Shave Ice for $2.50.
You can add a scoop of ice cream for $3.00. They are located in Westwood (near UCLA) and is a must try if you’re in LA.
5. French Crêpe Company
This place is one of the vendors at The Original Farmer’s Market in LA.
It’s next door to The Grove and CBS Television City where The Price is Right is filmed. They have lots of other options, but we went with our favorite, which is Nutella and Banana.
We also got a bottle of Orangina, which surprisingly JP had never tried before.
I always like to get it whenever I come across a place that has it since it’s pretty much a novelty here.
When I took my high school trip to France I had Orangina every day. I’m pretty sure I also had a Nutella crepe on a daily basis as well!
When you visit, take the time to browse everything else in the area because there are tons of food and drink options.
6. Insomnia Cookies
We were introduced to Insomnia Cookies by a friend and old co-worker from Disneyland a few years ago.
We recently found out that they ship nationwide, so if you’re not here in Southern California you can still try their yummy cookies!
When you go to the store you can buy individual cookies, 6 packs, 12 packs, 24 packs, 50 packs, and even 100 packs!
Their “classic” cookie flavors include:
chocolate chunk, classic with M&M’s, double chocolate chunk, double chocolate mint, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter crisp, snickerdoodle, sugar, white chocolate macadamia, and vegan/gluten free chocolate chip.
They also have a variety of “deluxe” cookies which include:
chocolate peanut butter cup (pictured above), S’mores, Triple Chocolate, Confetti, Oatmeal Chocolate Walnut, and Salted Caramel.
They have really cute (and funny) cookie cakes that I really want to go back and get sometime.
The cookie cakes have a screen print saying in the middle and the current options are “Thank You!”, “Sorry your day sucked / Have a cookie”, “I was Told To Bring Dessert”, and “You’re the Best!”.
You can also get brownies and “wiches”.
A “cookie-wich” is your standard ice cream cookie sandwich, but a “big’wich” is 2 cookies with frosting in-between!
As far as I know they have a location in Irvine and another in West Hollywood.
7. The Pie Hole
This is another place I had followed on Instagram for several years before actually visiting.
To be honest, it was a little more expensive than the other places mentioned.
They have several locations pretty spread out throughout LA and Orange County – Arts District in LA, Hollywood, Glendale, Pasadena, Orange, Rancho Cucamonga, and even 2 locations in Tokyo!
We visited the location in Orange, which is in an old historic district called Old Towne Orange.
We tried a slice of Smore’s Pie for $7.75 (a whole pie is $40!) and an iced tea that I can’t quite remember what the flavor was.
Other popular menu items are their Pie Holes, which are like donut holes, but pie, and they also have ice cream and cookies.
8. Popbar
Popbar is know for its handcrafted gelato on a stick that you can dip in practically anything!
They have over 30 gelato flavors, 5 yogurt flavors, and 26 sorbet flavors to choose from.
No matter which one you pick, you can dip each side in your choice of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla white chocolate, mint dark chocolate, or caramel dark chocolate.
Then you can choose any toppings you want, including almonds, caramel corn, chili powder, waffle cone, cinnamon pretzel, coconut, hazelnuts, pistachios, rainbow or chocolate sprinkles.
We visited their location in Huntington Beach, but they are popping up all over.
In California alone they have locations in Anaheim, Arcadia, Concord, Huntington Beach, Rancho Cucamonga, Sacramento, Long Beach, and Torrance.
They also have 2 locations in Florida at the Orlando Outlets, a location in Atlanta, Georgia, 3 locations in North Carolina, 1 in New Jersey, 1 in NYC, 6 in Texas and more coming in Elk Grove, Charleston, New Orleans, and Summerville!
9. Campitelli Cookies
Campitelli Cookies & Sandwiches has locations in Anaheim and Placentia.
They make the best chocolate chip cookies.
You can also get chocolate chip cookies with nuts, but I prefer the original.
10. Goodtown Doughnuts
Goodtown Doughnuts is at The LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa.
It’s a small outdoor shopping center with boutique shops and restaurants.
They offer mini donut boxes and vegan mini donut boxes.
The boxes are pre-picked each day, so you’ll know which ones will be in the box.
There’s lots of fun flavors to try!
11. Sugarbuzz
Location: 6386 E Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim, CA 92807
Sugarbuzz is a popular dessert shop in Anaheim Hills.
Everything is colorful and flavorful and filled with sprinkles.
We tried a huge slice of confetti cake with lots of icing and sprinkles and 3 layers of cake.
Pictured below is the Unicorn Hot Chocolate, which is a pink vanilla hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles.
They also have large versions of those animal cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles that are delicious.
You really can’t go wrong with anything here.
12. Milk & Cookies
Address: 119 E Commonwealth Ave, Fullerton, CA 92832
Milk & Cookies is a cookie and ice cream shop in Downtown Fullerton.
You can buy individual cookies or get them by the half dozen or dozen.
The larger cookies have a premium, but you can still build your own box with whichever cookies you’d like.
They’re always served perfectly warm and melty.
13. The Cookie Element
Location: 18166 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda, CA 92886
The Cookie Element has a variety of cookies, including seasonally decorated cookies, and brownies.
You can pick them each out a la carte and even build your own box.
I recommend the s’mores brownie in addition to the cookies!
More Unique Dining Experiences in Southern California
Like I said before, Southern California is a food lovers dream. These are some of our favorite dining experiences in the area.
➡️ 5 Best Birthday Restaurants in Orange County
Orange County is a great area to spend your birthday and not just because we have Disneyland.
These restaurants are some of the best hidden gems around the county for birthday celebrations.
➡️ The 11 Best Romantic Restaurants in Orange County
Looking to enjoy a date night?
Orange County has some amazing fine dining and upscale restaurants from the mountains to the coast.
➡️ The 5 Best Romantic Restaurants in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is another great area for date night with seemingly endless possibilities.
These are the best hidden gem destinations for date night in Los Angeles.
➡️ The 5 Best Birthday Restaurants in San Diego
As someone who has spent several birthdays in San Diego, this is a great destination for celebrations.
These are our most recommended restaurants for birthday dinners.
Fun Things To Do in Southern California
Southern California is one of the most diverse regions in the world with something to offer everybody.
✅ Spend A Day at Knott’s Berry Farm – America’s First Theme Park!
Knott’s Berry Farm represents all the best of Southern California.
From the wild west gold mining days to the iconic beach boardwalk days, Knott’s has attractions for it all.
👉 Click Here To Purchase Your One Day Ticket To Knott’s Berry Farm Today!
✅ Spend A Day Exploring Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is an iconic theme park perched right in the middle of the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the perfect LA area day trip.
👉 Click Here To Purchase Your One Day Ticket To Universal Studios Hollywood Now!
Conclusion: Best Places For Desserts in Southern California
Southern California and its visitors have a sweet tooth and this area has tons of dessert shops to feed that craving. These are the 8 best places for desserts in Southern California.
