Cake
If you subscribe to the idea that dessert should be a food group, you’ll find a kindred spirit in Stephanie B. Driven by her love for cake in particular, the talent behind The Cakery Bee channels her passion into confections boasting classic flavors like red velvet and sprinkle-powered confetti—all whipped up from her Dutchess County kitchen. As for icing—which she makes in crowd-pleasing varieties including Nutella fudge, salted caramel, and strawberry—the baker’s mastery of coloring and design ensures that whatever you order will look as good as it tastes.
Crostatas
Fruit pies tend to get the lion’s share of attention this time of year, but their veggie-filled counterparts can more than hold their own in any holiday spread. For proof, consider the crostatas churned out by Rockland County-based Birdie’s Batch, which sells its array of treats online and at farmers’ markets in Tarrytown/ Sleepy Hollow and Piermont. Sara Cann, who spearheads the 4-year-old homebaking biz with her mother Vinnie, says the savory pies are among the company’s top sellers and include roasted eggplant and whipped ricotta; Greek zucchini with honey goat cheese; and spicy miso potato.
Cupcakes
Arlene Deahl attributes her penchant for baked goods to her mother’s family, whose Pennsylvania Dutch roots all but guaranteed her fondness for regional staples like funny cake and shoofly pie. These days, the Catskill resident is carving out a niche of her own with Banana Moon Baking Company, the home-based business she launched back in 2013. Specializing in cupcakes among many other desserts, Deahl relies on natural ingredients to serve up treats in creative flavors like chocolate coconut, pistachio, and (her personal favorite) Earl Grey tea with lemon curd filling. Catch her on Facebook, where she regularly shares menu updates and details on how to order.
Cookies
Heather Shupe vividly remembers being a kid in her grandmother’s kitchen, helping her make molasses cookies while learning how to measure ingredients “with [her] eyes and heart,” she says. That powerful sense of nostalgia—combined with a surge in her own baking adventures, courtesy of the pandemic—inspired the Washingtonville local to start Heather’s Heartfilled Homemades in August of 2020. Armed with family recipes, the former pharmacy tech now spends her days mixing up cookie doughs in tempting flavors such as chocolate chip, peanut butter, and white chocolate cranberry. Eager for a sample? Look for Shupe at Orange County events; the baker sets up her booth everywhere from Artemis Hill Farm to Cornwall’s Second Fridays Art & Community Walk.
Bread
When Rhona Schiffres’ son, Marc, asked her to try her hand at baking challah in early 2011, the request seemed innocent enough. After all, the recently unemployed Kingston resident was the proud new owner of a bread machine, a Hanukkah gift, and had some time on her hands. Thirteen years and lots of experimentation later, what started as a hobby has blossomed into Challah on the Hudson—a thriving business that sees Schiffres selling her made-to-order loaves and rolls online to private customers and local businesses alike. Products include traditional plain, seeded, and raisin breads plus more inventive options like cinnamon-sugar or herb, fragrant with rosemary, thyme, basil, and garlic.
Gluten-Free and Vegan
Baking has been a part of Monica Jerminario’s life since childhood, when she would work the oven alongside her mom. But the food industry vet, who honed her culinary chops as a sous chef in Albany, formed a new relationship with the pastime after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease nearly two decades ago. Her quest for satisfying gluten-free treats ultimately led her to launch Happy Belly from her Columbia County home, where she’s been churning out Celiac-safe vegan breads, bars, and cookies since 2014. A top seller? The Scandinavian nut and seed bread, chock full of oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and more. Order online or swing by the Hudson and Beacon farmers’ markets, where Jerminario regularly posts up with her husband and business partner, Brandon Bjerke.
Strudel
The baking buffs on your favorite Food Network shows would have you believe that making strudel is easy. But if you’ve ever watched someone knead, roll, and stretch the dough they’ll need to wrap up yummy fillings, you know there’s an art to it. Thankfully, the virtuosos behind Columbia County-based Strudel House have a knack for the flaky pastry, baking it with apples, berries, veggies, cheese, or other ingredients before dishing it out online and at farmers’ markets. Your toughest assignment? Deciding whether to go sweet or savory. (Our advice? Get both.)
Cake Pops
They say you eat with your eyes first. That’s certainly the case when it comes to cake pops from Just Baked Sweets, a home bakery in Putnam County. Taking an artistic approach to the small but mighty dessert, the company creates decidedly detailed goodies resembling everything from mini hard-shell tacos and delicate flowers to characters from popular franchises like Sesame Street and Super Mario. Of course, the Carmel business—which accepts orders for custom cake pops and other bespoke sugary indulgences through its website—aims to please on the flavor front, too. Why else would it include Oreo and birthday cake among its menu options?
Treat Boxes
For Madison Kolis, owner of Albany County’s Baked by Madison, baking has always been a creative outlet. And nothing shows off the Delmar resident’s artistic side like her weekly treat boxes, delivered to customers each Friday. The special bundles, which locals can purchase individually or as a subscription, offer a range of homemade must-tries you’re not likely to find in the average shop such as pumpkin Neapolitan cookies, coffee walnut muffins, and strawberry basil bars. Kolis’ treat boxes often carry themes, too, in one case celebrating the start of the school year with apple cupcakes, “lunch lady” brownies, and wafer cookies decorated to look like pencils.
Related: Where to Take Home the Tastiest Pie in the Hudson Valley
