The ultimate sweet spot: This dessert bar was named Charlotte’s best for cookies
Charlotte, your sweet tooth has spoken.
After a sweet showdown between 30 beloved bakeries and delicious dessert spots, the votes are in, the cookie has crumbled and we now know who is baking up the best of the best cookies in the Queen City.
Best cookies in Charlotte: SWIRL Dessert Bar
Location: 2822 South Blvd B, Charlotte, NC 28209
As a kid, Maria Kremer had big dreams about running a bakery. Now, the Johnson & Wales University alumna can say she’s the pastry chef and leader of one that offers the best cookies around Charlotte.
SWIRL Dessert Bar first opened its doors serving made-to-order cupcakes in the Oakhurst neighborhood in 2019 before expanding with more menu items and a new spot in South End.
Though its OG location is no longer open, the dessert bar has become popular pit stop for cupcakes, ice cream treats and — of course — its cookies.
“We make all of our cookie dough by scratch by hand every single day, and we bake the cookies fresh every day,” Kremer told CharlotteFive. “Customers can come in, choose frostings, toppings and kind of make their own crumble cookie.”
Aside from crafting your own custom cookie, other flavors on the menu are:
- Churro: Snickerdoodle cookie with caramel frosting, churro cake bites and caramel sauce
- Classic: Chocolate chunk cookie with vanilla frosting, mini chocolate chips and chocolate sauce
- Debbie: Oatmeal raisin cookie with vanilla frosting, candied pecans and caramel sauce
- Grace: Snickerdoodle cookie with vanilla frosting, coffee powder and caramel sauce
- Grizzly: Brownie cookie with cookie frosting, brownie cake bites and chocolate sauce
- Rainbow: Sprinkle cookie with vanilla frosting, birthday cake bites and white chocolate sauce
“We want to say thank you so much to everyone that comes in and supports us everyday. ... Every cookie that’s bought definitely keeps us going.”
Finalist for best cookies: Cara’s Cookie Company
Location: 350 McGill Ave NW, Concord, NC 28027
Cara’s Cookie Company isn’t just known for its sweet treats in Concord. The local bakery was opened in honor of owner Jennifer Hamilton’s daughter, Cara, who passed away from a brain tumor.
In 2019, she’d been doing cookie fundraisers for her nonprofit organization, Cara’s Purpose, to support parents with infants diagnosed with terminal illnesses. But once the pandemic hit in 2020, those fundraisers were put on pause and the idea of a bakery business came to be.
“I started by looking up recipes online and then learning the science behind why they do certain things and just tweaking the recipes along the way to make it how we want it,” Hamilton told CharlotteFive.
“We thought of starting a cookie company, and at the time, we had not heard of any other cookie company. So we thought we had a new idea that was fun and exciting. The more we looked into it, we found all these other places that are already doing it, but we decided to go ahead and do it and try to make it our own and make it special.”
Hamilton says the chocolate chip, brookie and Oreo flavors are among Cara’s most popular cookie options. But the business also has peanut butter, coconut macaroon, double chocolate caramel, coffee toffee and more to choose from, too.
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