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Unique and delicious desserts worth finding
The pandemic really messed up the local restaurant scene, but one cool thing is seeing the side hustles and small businesses figure out new ways to reach all of us dessert-lovers.
Our family bit the bullet for you and put five amazing desserts to the taste test. Some of these places will deliver, some of them you have to stalk on Instagram for pop-up details, and all of them have bizarre hours and limited quantities. (Pro tip: Pre-order so you’re not disappointed.)
Remember having actual hobbies? Yeah, that was before kids. These days, our idea of a good time is going in search of a small but super-tasty splurge. This is a dessert crawl that does require some planning; think of it as a sort of scavenger hunt with the most delicious rewards.
Use the arrow above the image or the link below to get started.
Up next: Sweet Nothings and More
1. Sweet Nothings and More
Editor’s note: Sweet Nothings and More’s pop ups and markets are currently on hiatus. If you are interested in wholesale or catering you can contact them on their website.
What’s better than a flaky, caramelized croissant? A flaky, caramelized croissant stuffed with raspberry cheesecake. I can die happy now.
But once that twice-baked raspberry cheesecake croissant is gone, it’s gone. It’s always chef’s choice at Sweet Nothings and More. You can see the current menu (and drool-worthy photos) on the website or on Instagram.
“Our menu changes every single weekend,” said Alina Muratova, chef and owner. “So chances are if you see something you like on this week’s menu, you better hurry to the pop-up, because we will not have it the week after.”
Find Sweet Nothings and More at pastry pop-ups all over the Seattle metro area, or sign up for a subscription box delivery (one-time, weekly or monthly). For $30, you get a care pack with four different pastries and a cookie. Pastry lovers, rejoice!
Muratova started Sweet Nothings and More as a wholesale dessert company in 2019, making desserts for hotels and restaurants all over Seattle. When all of her customers shut down because of COVID, she had to rethink her business model. Muratova landed on the idea of pastry pop-ups, first in restaurants and then expanding to coffee shops and other venues. She added delivery and started taking pre-orders last fall.
“The pop-up model has been working pretty well so far,” says Muratova. “I feel like now that more people know about us, it is getting better every week.”
To buy: Find the pop-up schedule and the week’s menu on the Sweet Nothings website and on Instagram. We highly recommend pre-ordering. Pop-up locations are sprinkled throughout the Seattle metro area, and care pack deliveries are available in Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, Newcastle and Burien.
Up next: FogRose Atelier
2. FogRose Atelier
FogRose Atelier founder Quyen Dang worked as a civil engineer for 11 years before trading engineering for sweets. “I didn’t tell my parents for the first two years,” Dang said. “I didn’t want them to worry.”
FogRose opened its superchic doors in downtown Bellevue in the fall of 2019. Four months into its operation, the pandemic hit. They continued to take limited special orders for cupcakes and whole cakes, and re-opened its patio for scoops and slices in 2021. There are a dozen liquid-nitrogen ice cream flavors and six cake flavors to choose from.
Even if you don’t live in Bellevue, these desserts are 100-percent worth the drive. They’re actual works of art. Need another excuse for a field trip with the kids? FogRose is located near three fantastic Bellevue playgrounds: Downtown Park’s Inspiration Playground, Meydenbauer Bay Park and Surrey Downs Park.
Dang works with a team of young pastry chefs to experiment with creative flavors. The Vietnamese coffee cake is one of their most popular offerings, but heads up parents, it’s made with actual coffee. For kid-friendly flavors, try the cookies and cream, lychee rose or blueberry lavender.
To buy: FogRose is open for Afternoon Tea (reservations required) Friday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (last seating is at 4 p.m.). The bar is also open Friday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. for dessert and drinks (reservations are not taken for the bar). Snag two hours of free parking at Soma Towers.
The patio is open Thursday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.. You can order online for pickup, and walk-ups are welcome.
Up next: Dreamy Drinks
3. Dreamy Drinks
Editor’s note: Dreamy Drinks truck is closed for the season and is planning to return in March 2023. Watch their calendar for locations in the spring.
How about a dessert in liquid form? Dreamy Drinks, which bills itself as Seattle’s first bubble tea truck, opened in 2019. The owners are originally from the Bay Area, where there’s a bubble tea shop on practically every corner. To fill that gap in the Seattle market, they came up with a mobile bubble tea shop in a cute pink truck that comes to your neighborhood.
The truck broke down at the end of 2020 (insert bad 2020 joke here) but we’re happy to report that Dreamy Drinks is rolling again, with pop-ups from Lynnwood to Renton. In addition to bubble tea, you can order espresso drinks and smoothies. The smoothies and slushies are made with real fruit instead of just powder and sugar; my kids’ favorite is the taro smoothie ($5.50/medium). Another popular drink for kids is the sparking soda made with edible glitter!
Find it: You can find the pop-up schedule on the Dreamy Drinks website, follow the truck on Instagram, and even place your order ahead of time to skip the line. Delivery is available on Doordash on weekends.
Up next: My Friend’s Cookies
4. My Friend’s Cookies
Kids don’t want a bacon-matcha cookie with organic sea salt and shaved truffles; kids want a really big cookie. That’s where My Friend’s Cookies comes in. Sara Eveland is the chef behind this one-woman operation, and she makes really big cookies in classic flavors like chocolate chip and snickerdoodle.
Her expert tasters are her nieces, ages 5 and 7. “I like traditional flavors with good ingredients,” Eveland said. “But I’m also not serious. It’s important for me, in every single one of my recipes, there’s an item that’s not measured, that’s something that you toss in because you know.”
Eveland has a more than full-time job as the sous-chef at Restaurant Homer. Like a lot of other people, she got into baking at the beginning of the pandemic. She made some cookies for a friend who was doing a pop-up. “Just say it’s my friend’s cookie,” she remembers saying, and the name “My Friend’s Cookies” stuck.
“This is my fun job,” Eveland said. “I love to cook. This is the thing I get to do that involves my friends. It’s crazy, but it’s super fun.”
To order: Cookies are $5 each or $48 per dozen. Send her a direct message through Instagram or hop on to the My Friend’s Cookies website — Eveland is quick to reply on both platforms. She delivers throughout the Seattle area, including the Eastside, or you can find her cookies at occasional pop-ups and at Watson’s Counter in Ballard.
Up next: Sugar + Spoon
5. Sugar + Spoon
Editor’s note: The Westlake Mall and University Way locations are temporarily closed. Check the Facebook page for food truck locations.
I always wanted to be that cool mom baking cookies and letting the kids lick the spoon, but that’s not happening because who has the time? And eww, raw eggs.
So I was really excited to find out about Sugar + Spoon, an edible cookie dough company that uses no eggs and safe, heat-treated flour. It’s a brilliant business idea that two University of Washington students, William Hubbell and Ivana Orlovic, came up with for their senior entrepreneurship project.
“We wanted to create something that would be easy to sell and all the people around us would enjoy. Cookie dough does just that,” Hubbell said. “It’s a very fun product but at the same time, it’s very nostalgic and comforting.”
After graduation in June 2018, the two bought their first food truck off Craigslist for $40,000. Their business grew to two trucks, a 60-square-foot micro store in the University District and 40 employees.
You can order online and have cookie dough shipped anywhere in the country, or hit a pop-up from their roving food trucks. The trucks go out every day, visiting two or three neighborhoods each throughout the Puget Sound region.
Hubbell’s favorite flavor, by far, is the Party Animal. It’s sugar cookie dough dyed pink, with Mother’s cookies and rainbow sprinkles. “It’s soooo good,” he said. “Tastes like childhood.”
I ordered the smallest size cup to split three ways — and we still couldn’t finish it. It’s a fun treat, but verrrrry sugary.
To buy: The walk-up window on The Ave is open daily, 4–9 p.m., at 4518 University Way N.E. in Seattle. Check the Sugar + Spoon’s Facebook or Instagram for pop-up times and locations.
More tasty treats for Seattle-area kids and families
You can’t really have too many treat stops on your family outings — if you want to keep the troops happy. Check out these fun and family-friendly ideas:
