Memphis is a barbecue town with a serious sweet tooth. Here are 68 independent dessert shops across the metro, from Downtown to DeSoto County, plus the restaurant desserts locals go out of their way for.

We checked every listing for a current address and confirmed hours where we could. Chains are left out on purpose: everything here is locally owned.

Last updated October 2026.

This guide is a project of 901 Today, Memphis's free daily newsletter.

The names Memphians have been arguing over (lovingly) for decades. Start here.

Memphis has been eating Dinstuhl's Fine Candy Co. chocolates since 1902, when Charles Martin Dinstuhl Sr. opened a neighborhood candy shop. More than a century later it's still the city's go-to box for holidays and apologies alike — get the Cashew Crunch, then argue about whether the fudge is really the best in America (the shop says it's been ranked No. 1).

The East Memphis donut shop that's been feeding night owls for more than 50 years — and yes, it's still open until midnight. Gibson's Donuts reopened in January 2026 after a round of upgrades, and the case looks the same as ever: maple bacon, red velvet and apple fritters the size of your hand.

Memphis's original French bakery turned 50 in 2026 — La Baguette French Bread & Pastry Shop has been in Chickasaw Oaks since 1976. A June 2026 renovation brought new display cases, but the petit fours and almond-poppyseed Danish are exactly what your grandmother remembers.

Handmade in Memphis since 1980, Ricki's Cookie Corner & Bakery calls itself the home of the world-famous Chipsticks — crunchy, dunkable chocolate chip cookie sticks. It also bakes challah, so plan accordingly for Friday.

Since 1999, Makeda's Cookies has made the butter cookie Memphis's unofficial edible souvenir. The original shop on Airways is where it all started, and the Downtown store on Jefferson sells the same cookies plus award-winning banana pudding and pies baked in a butter-cookie crust.

The Broad Avenue bakery behind the Prozac cupcake (chocolate on chocolate — it works) changed hands in spring 2026, when the Belltower Coffeehouse team bought it. The recipes, the staff and the name all stayed, so Muddy's Bake Shop is still the place for cupcakes, Cocoa Crackle Pie and a slice of something homemade.

Family recipes, scratch cakes and frosting made without shortening since 2004. Frost Bake Shop is the metro's birthday-cake headquarters, with three shops and a cult following for the Memphis Cream layer cake. Teachers and first responders get a discount, too.

Two Ffs, one obsession: butter cookies. Butteriffic Bakery & Cafe bakes them in butter pecan, strawberry, lemon and coconut, plus banana pudding and cakes, and it's one of the highest-rated dessert stops Downtown. Teachers, police, firefighters, veterans and college students get 10% off.

Owner Matteo Servente is from Turin, Italy, and Zio Matto Gelato tastes like it — handmade gelato and sorbetto in pistachio, hazelnut, stracciatella and wild strawberry. It's on the ground floor of Central Station, and the same gelato is sold at 30-plus spots in Memphis and Nashville.

Tiny cheesecakes, big personality. DVOUR Desserts rotates its cheesecake flavors (ube and key lime have both made appearances) and stuffs oversized cookies with cream cheese. Saturday is brioche donut day.

Right on the Beale Street strip, Beale Sweets sells fudge in 15+ flavors — from chocolate to cotton candy — alongside glazed nuts, specialty pops and old-school candy. It stays open late enough for a post-show sugar fix.

A Black-owned scoop shop on Main Street with dozens of homemade flavors. Margie's 901 Homemade Ice Cream & Cakes says it invented the ice cream cupcake and ice cream pizza — both of which have been featured on Food Network — and either way, you should try them.

A Main Street fixture since 1949. The Peanut Shoppe roasts nuts fresh every day and fills the rest of the case with chocolates, candy and imported Middle Eastern sweets — owner Rida Abuzaineh has run it since 1993.

The grab-and-go counter inside The Peabody sells pastries from the hotel's own pastry shop — including chocolate duck treats, which is the most Peabody thing imaginable. Pair a slice with a 5 p.m. duck march. More here.

Ask Memphis where to get cheesecake and The Cheesecake Corner comes up again and again. It rotates its cheesecake flavors daily and now operates inside Fannie Lou's, near the South Main/Tennessee St. edge of Downtown.

A 100% gluten-free bakery whose co-owner and head baker has celiac disease — so the whole kitchen is dedicated. Jacques Louise Gluten Free Bakery moved from Overton Square to a bigger Cooper-Young shop in July 2026, and its fried, yeast-raised doughnuts (weekends) have converted plenty of people who can eat gluten just fine.

Homemade ice cream and boba under one spooky-cute roof. Sugar Ghost Ice Cream & Bubble Tea opened on Broad Avenue in 2021 and added Germantown in 2023; get a scoop of Mud Island (peanut butter cups, pretzels and pecans) or Honey Lavender, or float it in a bubble tea.

Everything is made in-house at Sweet Noshings: 40+ ice cream flavors, 30-plus fudges and about 30 kinds of popcorn, according to the owners. Grown-ups can go boozy — think Jack Daniel's Honey ice cream. There's a second shop in East Memphis.

Handcrafted ice pops in fruit-and-cream, seasonal and boozy flavors — plus "Mempups" for your dog. Mempops donates in-store tips to a different local nonprofit each month.

Buy a croissant, change a life. Lucy J's Bakery hires parents who are transitioning out of homelessness, pays them a living wage, and works alongside the Dorothy Day House. The butter, chocolate and cinnamon-sugar croissants are reason enough to go anyway.

Owner Kiamesha "Kaye" Wilson churns small batches with no artificial flavors or dyes, and builds flavors meant to remind you of a favorite meal. The Scoop by Kaye's Pints & Scoops opened in Crosstown Concourse in May 2026; her original Whitehaven shop is listed below.

Baker Jimmy Hoxie's Union Avenue shop is bread-first, but don't sleep on the sweets: the bourbon pecan croissant is a local legend, and the Basque cheesecake shows up on holiday menus. The Ginger's Bread & Co. is open Tuesday through Saturday.

A family-owned bakery with a mission that started inside JIFF, a juvenile intervention program — the motto is "Make Life Sweeter." Sweet LaLa's Bakery is known for hand-piped decorated cookies and also teaches baking classes.

The Taiwanese bakery that took Cordova by storm opened a second shop in East Memphis in September 2025. Grab a tray and pick your pastries at Sweet Musings Bakery & Cafe: taro buns, egg tarts and fluffy Japanese cheesecake. (The original is listed under Cordova.)

A longtime Latin panadería just off Summer Avenue, Kay Bakery is the place for tres leches, flan, pan dulce and big decorated sheet cakes for the party.

Memphis's Latin sweets corridor — paletas, conchas and tres leches that most dessert lists skip entirely.

A classic paletería and nevería with Mexican ice cream and fruit-packed paletas in flavors you won't find at the grocery store — corn, chile mango, Mexican cake and pistachio. Regulars swear by the banana split. (La Michoacana is a name many independent paleterías share, not a chain.) More here.

Owner Lily Chaker catered for years before opening this Summer Avenue storefront in 2023, and Lily's Bakery & Catering blends Latin and Middle Eastern baking — cakes, cookies and a traditional Venezuelan quesillo (flan).

Fresh-fruit Mexican ice cream in Raleigh. Regulars at KOCO LOCO order the strawberries and cream and the mangonadas.

A Raleigh panadería whose tres leches has its own fan club, plus flan in several flavors. Los Reyes Bakery stays open late on weeknights.

A busy Mexican panadería that bakes bolillo several times a day. At La Ilusión Bakery, go for the pineapple tres leches or the chile con queso bread.

Conchas and fresh bread on Lamar. Panadería La Ideal is a neighborhood favorite — one reviewer called it a rare find for a good Mexican bakery this far east.

Palestinian-style kunafa made by hand on semolina dough, Dubai-style pistachio chocolate and Turkish coffee — Sana Sweets is one of the most distinctive dessert stops in the city.

Warm butter cookies — chocolate chip, strawberry, peanut butter and classic — handed through a drive-thru window. Butta Butter Cookies is dessert built for the commute home.

The original home of Kiamesha "Kaye" Wilson's small-batch ice cream (her Crosstown shop is listed above). Kaye's Pints & Scoops keeps its Whitehaven scoop window open on Saturdays — think Birthday Cake, Gingerbread & Cream and vegan options.

New Orleans-style snoballs in Whitehaven, including stuffed and cheesecake versions. Regulars at Suga Mama Snoballs swear by the Tiger Blood. Seasonal — check before you go in the cooler months.

"Snowa" means "with snow," which tells you the main event: bingsu, the Korean shaved-milk ice, in mango, strawberry, Oreo and misugaru. Snowa Korean Cafe also makes boonguh-ppang, the fish-shaped pastry stuffed with sweet red bean.

Baking in Germantown since 1987, Miss Muff'n Bakery — now run as Confections & Connections — is known for its strawberry cake and keeps a grab-and-go case of cookies and cupcakes.

The Broad Avenue ice cream-and-boba shop's second location, in StoneCreek Centre. See the Midtown listing above for what to order at Sugar Ghost.

Billed as the first Taiwan-style bakery in the Memphis area, Sweet Musings Bakery & Cafe opened in 2024 and still draws a line. Grab a tray and tongs and help yourself to taro buns, pineapple buns, egg tarts and Japanese cheesecake — all a little less sweet than American pastry.

Pick a gelato or sorbet bar from about 30 rotating flavors, dip it in European chocolate, then roll it in toppings. Dipsticle Artisan Gelato Cafe has been doing gelato-on-a-stick in Cordova since 2017, with vegan, sugar-free and gluten-free options.

Yoli and Wesley Perry started with a dessert trailer and now run Oh Desserts Coffee and Pastry House, a Venezuelan-inspired dessert café. Order the passion-fruit marquesa, a milhoja or a slice of quesillo with your coffee.

Cousins Mustapha Mustapha and Mounir Mourabi opened Tripolis Sweets in Cordova in 2026, with Lebanese pastries and Arabic ice cream.

A Memphis summer tradition. The original Wells Station stand closed in 2024, but Jerry's Sno Cones lives on in Cordova — order it "supreme" with soft serve layered into the ice. Seasonal.

A neighborhood donut shop with a big fan base — the Big Donut is the most-ordered item at Howard's Donuts, and it makes kolaches, too. There's a second Howard's on Highway 64 in Lakeland.

Frost Bake Shop and Dinstuhl's both have Collierville shops — see Memphis Dessert Institutions above.

A walk-up soft-serve window just off the Historic Town Square with 20-plus flavors — apricot and cotton candy among them. Mensi's Dairy Bar is a Collierville summer-night ritual, and there's outdoor seating for people-watching.

Small-batch ice cream churned in-house since 2017, in a former TCBY. Levee Coffee & Creamery was one of 64 shops nationwide picked for The64's 2026 "America's Best Ice Cream" contest. Pints are discounted Monday nights.

A Collierville donut shop for more than 20 years, Donut Hutt also hosts kids' donut-making birthday parties. Maple bacon is a crowd favorite.

A longtime neighborhood donut counter on New Byhalia. Get to Sam's Donut Shop early — the glazed and chocolate cake donuts go first.

Frost Bake Shop's Lakeland shop is at 9845 Lake District Dr. N. — see Memphis Dessert Institutions above.

An early-bird donut shop on Highway 64 with a loyal following. Regulars at Howard's Donuts order the old-fashioned cinnamon-sugar donuts and apple fritters — and they warn you to come early.

State-fair desserts, year-round. Quintessential Sweets serves gourmet funnel cakes, candy apples, Italian ice and liquor-infused snow — the strawberry cheesecake funnel cake is the one people talk about.

A sister-owned cupcake and cake shop on Stage Road with vegan options. Jaybear Bake Shop's signatures are the "Ooey Gooeys" (chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting) and a sweet potato pie cake.

A local donut shop with a highly rated following. Bartlett Donuts is known for its pineapple fritters and pineapple-filled donuts, plus kolaches.

An early-morning donut and kolache stop with thousands of happy delivery-app reviews. U.S. Donuts also runs a Cordova shop on Houston Levee.

Leilani and Blake Evans went from farmers markets and a VW bus to a Depot Square storefront in November 2025. Barefruit Cafe specializes in the croughnut — a croissant-donut hybrid that takes three days to make.

A cake shop with a walk-in storefront and a big menu of gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and vegan options. Crave Sweets is a go-to when somebody at the party has a dietary restriction.

New Orleans-style snoballs, ice cream and shakes. Miccos Sno Cones & Shakes started behind a gas station in 2016 and opened this Arlington shop in 2022 — try the "Grizz" sundae. Likely seasonal.

A family-run cookie shop with a full espresso bar — order a specialty cookie and a Dolly Latte (white chocolate, brown sugar, strawberry cold foam). 2KC Cookie Co. is also in our coffee guide.

Mexican-style ice cream and paletas on Highway 51 — and some of the best elote in a cup in town, per regulars. La Costa Ice Cream Shop is the move after a hot Millington afternoon.

A long-running Navy Road donut shop that fuels the morning commute toward the base. Regulars at SB Donuts order the plain glazed and the well-filled long johns.

Opens at 4 a.m. and has a drive-thru — Tas-T-O Donuts (also listed as Millington Donuts) is Millington's earliest sugar fix. It also sells kolaches; reviewers love the Bavarian cream.

Handmade ice cream, made from scratch daily with in-season local produce, just off the Hernando Square. Ask Area 51 Ice Cream what's churning this week.

More than 100 flavors, baked in small batches, including keto and gluten-free options. City Hall Cheesecake has shops on the Hernando Square and at Silo Square in Southaven.

Locals call it "The Dip." Velvet Cream has been serving soft serve and shakes on Highway 51 since 1947, and the Flinn family has owned it since 1962.

Owner Abbi Nichols started baking as a junior-high kid taking Facebook orders, finished at Ole Miss and opened this storefront in 2025. Abbikadabbi's Baking Co. does custom cookies, cupcakes and cookie cakes.

A Stateline Road dessert bar built around cheesecakes and bite-size "Love Bites." Loves Dessert Bar is a quick hop across the state line.

Family-owned for more than 20 years, with recipes passed down for generations and the motto "Where Art Has Taste." At Old Towne Bakery, the petit fours are the must-order.

Handcrafted paletas loaded with fresh strawberries, mangoes and pineapple, plus Mexican snacks. La Michoacana is DeSoto County's paletería pick.

A small-town dairy bar with about 30 flavors and the "Black Magic" brownie à la mode. Happy Daze Dairy Bar is worth the drive down I-55.

Not dessert shops — but these are the restaurant desserts Memphians specifically go out for.

The Grisanti family's Midtown grill has been a fixture on McLean for more than 50 years, and the menu calls the tiramisu its house specialty — voted one of the "Top 10 Things to Eat in Memphis." More here.

Soul food in South Memphis since 1946. The owner told Memphis magazine the peach cobbler is the restaurant's best-selling dessert; save room for the strawberry cake, too. More here.

Chef BJ has served her mother's recipes in the Pinch since 1997 — the sweet potato cobbler, bread pudding with bourbon sauce and buttermilk pie are the reasons to linger. More here.

Huey's homemade lemon icebox pie comes from a grandmother's recipe, and the Homemade Fudge Brownie à la mode has its own loyal fan base. Both are on the menu at Huey's locations around town. More here.

It's a barbecue city, so it's a banana pudding city. Central BBQ's homemade version is the classic end to a plate of ribs. More here.

On the Collierville Square, the Silver Caboose's soda fountain dates to the drugstore that once filled the building. Banana splits, ice cream sodas and hot fudge sundaes — order one at the counter. More here.

Memphis's dessert scene changes fast — shops open, move and close every season. If we missed your favorite (or something here has changed), reply to any 901 Today email and we'll check it out for the next update.

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More 901 Today Guides: The Complete Guide to Coffee Shops in Memphis · Where to Eat Breakfast and Brunch in Memphis · Latin & Mexican Restaurants Guide