While some New Yorkers clear out of town for the winter holidays, the rest of us know that it’s a great opportunity to indulge your sweet tooth.
Coquito, for example, is a particular “if you know, you know” specialty: a spiced, creamy drink that locals love, thanks to the large Puerto Rican community in New York City who helped popularize it around the holiday season. In fact, many New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent whip up bottles of the dark rum-infused drink reminiscent of eggnog to sell or give to their neighbors. While we legally can’t point you to a home purveyor, Puerto Rican café 787 Coffee sells zero-proof coquito lattes and the Dominican bakery Sweets and Things gives its luxurious tres leches cake the coquito treatment.
Holidays in the City are a time when restaurants, bakeries and entrepreneurial civilians break out the culturally unique and deeply delicious treats we wait for all year. That’s why we created this dessert-loving guide to some of the best sweets across the boroughs. Celebrate Christmas with Polish cookies in Greenpoint, Hanukkah with sufganiyot in Williamsburg and Three Kings Day with Mexican king cake in Sunset Park.
Each of the spots recommended is embedded in an enclave with lots to explore, so make a day of it and try some new-to-you foods for a taste of another culture. You may find a new holiday tradition of your own.
Sufganiyot. Photo: iStock
Jewish Doughnuts from Oneg Bakery in Williamsburg
188 Lee Ave., Brooklyn
Foods fried in oil are traditional fare for Hanukkah, and while potato latkes are a savory essential for the holiday, any Jewish grandmother will tell you that the best ones are homemade, not bought from a store. Sufganiyot, yeasted doughnuts rolled in sugar and filled with jelly or custard, are another matter entirely, and this old-school bakery in the heart of Hasidic Williamsburg is where to get them. Oneg has plain, jelly and pastry cream sufganiyot for the Festival of Lights. They’re made fresh daily—pillowy, tender, bigger than your fist and a taste of decades gone by. Don’t leave this beloved location without a slice of its signature chocolate babka, which is as dense and rich as the doughnuts are lofty and light.
As a kosher operation, Oneg closes on Friday two hours before sunset and is closed all day Saturday. Pay a visit any other time and peruse the nearby Judaica stores, which stock beautiful home goods and silver religious objects worth passing down to the grandkids.
Colombian Fruitcake from Pecoshitas in Jackson Heights
80-03 Roosevelt Ave., Queens
Jackson Heights is a hot spot for immigrants from more countries than you can count, but anyone who’s been around during World Cup season knows how proud and active the neighborhood’s Colombian community is. Bakeries here specialize in fried empanadas, chewy bunuelos and a cake that often graces Colombian holiday tables, the torta negra colombiana. A fruitcake studded with dried fruits like raisins and figs, then soaked in rum, wine or both, the version at Pecoshitas, a bustling bakery on the equally bustling Roosevelt Avenue, is tall and has a light, airy crumb and deep rum flavor. It’s not too sweet and a perfect match for the shop’s strong coffee.
Don’t be intimidated by the long line; it moves quickly, thanks to the graceful staff. While in Jackson Heights, visit the Arepa Lady for cheesy Colombian-style arepas and look for carts and food trucks selling Colombian tamales, which are softball-sized bundles of masa stuffed with chicken or pork and often a hard-boiled egg wrapped in fragrant banana leaves.
Dominican Layer Cake from Happy Cake Bakery in the Bronx’s Morris Heights
1979 Jerome Ave., the Bronx
As you hunt for coquito in the Bronx, refuel at this local TikTok favorite with an Alice in Wonderland aesthetic for over-the-top sweets like tres leches cake layered with flan, towering sandwiches and savory croissants stuffed with chicken, fries and cheese. Happy Cake also makes bizcocho dominicano, a light, airy yellow cake with heaps of meringue frosting and a tropical fruit jam filling. It’s a standard dessert on Dominican holiday tables that’d also make a fine birthday cake.
The menu changes often, so if a dish on the bakery’s Instagram catches your eye, be sure to call ahead or message to see if it’s available. Fill out the afternoon with a visit to one of the nearby Dominican seafood restaurants or rotisseries with tender, generously spiced chicken.
Melomakarona. Photo: iStock
Greek Honey Cookies from Artion in Astoria
23-18 31st St., Queens
Melomakarona are the taste of Greek Christmas, and this expansive bakery makes an excellent version of the melt-in-your-mouth cookies. The soft, sandy treats are typically formed from a simple dough of semolina, flour, olive oil, walnuts, orange zest, cloves and nutmeg; after baking, they’re soaked in honey syrup. They’re incidentally dairy- and egg-free, and surprisingly not too sweet.
Artion sells melomakarona and most of its cookies by the pound as well as cakes. Fans of savory pastries should check out the cheese and spinach pies made with homemade phyllo. The bakery is smack in the middle of Astoria’s Greek community, so visit one of the many tavernas like Gregory’s for flavorful spreads and well-charred octopus, and don’t miss grocery shopping at neighborhood staples like Parrot Coffee and Titan Foods.
Haitian Coconut Fudge from Le Bon Pain in Queens Village
21163 Jamaica Ave., Queens
It’s a funny linguistic coincidence that the Queens neighborhood of Jamaica is home to a large Caribbean population: The area’s name derives from a Lenape word. Now, restaurants and shops along Jamaica Avenue and throughout nearby Hollis, Queens Village and Bellerose Manor sell juicy jerk chicken, meaty oxtails and Haitian specialties like the ones available at this family bakery.
Dous kokoye is a fudgelike confection made with shredded coconut, coconut milk and sugar. It’s one of many Haitian sweets that appear around the holidays, along with sweet rolls and pain patate, a spiced sweet potato pudding. Le Bon Pain also sells rich drinks like phoscao, an indulgent chocolaty shake. While it doesn’t make kremas, the boozy coconut cream punch similar to coquito, keep an eye out for local sellers nearby.
Italian Marzipan. Photo: iStock
Italian Marzipan from Villabate Alba in Bensonhurst
7001 18th Ave., Brooklyn
Crafting frutta di martorana, marzipan shaped into whimsical fruits and vegetables, is a dying art, but a few specialists keep the Sicilian tradition going. At Villabate Alba, you can find its handmade almond paste formed into figs, pears, lemons and oranges, among other shapes that show off a sun-ripened blush. The gorgeous confections have firm outer shells that give way to soft, almost fudgy interiors. They’re great stocking stuffers, or you could craft a still life centerpiece for your holiday dessert spread.
Villabate Alba ships its sweets nationwide, but if you make it to southern Brooklyn, don’t miss out on the freshly filled cannoli and baked-that-day sfogliatelle, a laminated pastry that crackles in your mouth like a souped-up croissant. There aren’t many old-school Italian bakeries like it left in the City, which is why New Yorkers of Sicilian descent make the trip here year after year during the holiday season. Add in a visit to one of the local red sauce spots like Ortobello for generously portioned Italian American classics.
Polish Poppy Seed Cake from Cafe Riviera in Greenpoint
830 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn
Polish New Yorkers have long called this North Brooklyn neighborhood home, and as you emerge from the G train station on Greenpoint Avenue, you may find yourself carried on the air, cartoon style, by the wafting aroma of sugar and butter toward the local bakeries. Cafe Riviera is one such Polish specialist, especially known for its makowiec, a cake made from a yeasted dough that’s rolled around a dense poppy seed filling. Many Polish sweets are made with poppy seeds, a criminally underrated ingredient in desserts. Pieces of candied orange peel on top contribute to the holiday spirit of this classic. Once in Greenpoint you’ll want to visit pierogi parlors like Karczma and Pierozek for peerless potato dumplings, comfort food like breaded chicken cutlets and comforting Nalesniki, a Polish-style crepe.
Napoleon Cake. Photo: iStock
Russian Napoleon Cake from International Food (Formerly Taste of Russia) in Brighton Beach
219 Brighton Beach Ave., Brooklyn
Little Odessa is one nickname for this Eastern European neighborhood at the far southern tip of Brooklyn. Among the area’s many treasures are sprawling shops that are so much more than simple grocery stores. International Food on the main avenue boasts cheese and charcuterie counters, pickle and salad bars, steam tables stocked with hot foods, and an impressive dessert case.
We’re sending you here for its napoleon cake, a Russian New Year’s staple made from flaky puff pastry sandwiched between layers of lush cream. The dessert appeared in Russia in 1912 as an iteration of the French mille-feuille. It was prepared in single-serving triangles to mimic the shape of the French general’s signature bicorn hat in commemoration of the centenary of Russia’s snowy victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.
It has since evolved into the towering version we see today—a sophisticated treat that feeds a crowd well. We could just as easily recommend going all in on the shop’s soft and caramelly layered honey cake or picking up a pile of little hand pies filled with apples and apricots. Stock up on superior sour cream, smoked fish and colorful Russian candies while you’re at it, then enjoy a Uyghur meal at Kashkar Cafe or get cheesy kachapuri from the nearby shop Little Georgia.
Courtesy, Don Paco Lopez Panadería
Mexican King Cake from Don Paco Lopez Panaderia in Sunset Park and Harlem
4703 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn
2129 Third Ave., Manhattan
Mexican Christmas celebrations continue past December 25 through the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. Rosca de reyes is the pan dulce (“sweet bread”) for the occasion, and it’s one of the specialties of this Sunset Park mainstay, which has another city location in Harlem. The yeasted ring-shaped dough is topped with a sweet buttery crumble and colorful candied citrus slices for a visually festive centerpiece.
Don Paco Lopez makes a lot of these cakes during the holidays and moves through its stock quickly, so you’re guaranteed to get one that’s fresh and moist. Available only from January 3 through January 6, the cakes are quite popular, so reserve one ahead of time if you’re planning to visit in the heart of the holiday season. Then, spend some time feasting on birria (braised beef or goat) tacos from nearby Sunset Park spots like the vaunted Tacos El Bronco truck.
