Whether you’ve eliminated gluten from your diet for medical reasons or just for aspirations of healthier eating, the foodie forces have spoken: G-Free is officially on-trend. And while it may sometimes be hard to find GF options that suit your (or your child’s) fancy, the gluten-free lifestyle should not prevent you from satisfying your sweet tooth-cravings.
To help G-free fams navigate the best desserts sans gluten in the city, we’ve put together a list of best sweet indulgences that offer yummy and gluten-free delights.
Baked by Melissa Gluten-Free Bite Size Cupcakes 25-Pack
If you’re following doctor’s orders or trying to stick to a New Year’s resolution of eating less gluten, Baked by Melissa’s beloved bite size cupcakes have something in store for you. In fact, Baked by Melissa recently opened up an entire store of gluten free only sweet treats in Midtown Manhattan! The cute mini cupcakes are made with tapioca and brown rice flour and come in eight delicious flavors, such as triple chocolate crunch, red velvet, caramel, cinnamon, peanut butter, chocolate marshmallow, and more. And with the tiny treats’ button size you can indulge without breaking your resolutions. Gluten-free and guilt-free. $20, bakedbymelissa.com
Blossom Bakery Gluten-Free Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Cake
Blossom Bakery has long been a go-to staple for New York’s vegans, offering a wide selection of vegan delights like raw pumpkin pie dessert. But Blossom is also known for their gluten-free lemon cream cheese and chocolate flavored frosting cakes perfect for a food sensitive kid’s birthday party or weekend families’ after dinner treat. They also have gluten-free cupcakes and yummy cookies, like chocolate mint to satisfy all kinds of sweet tooth cravings. blossombakerynyc.com
Karlie Kloss’ Klossies for Milk Bar
Klossies are baked goods line collaboration between the uber-popular New York bakery Milk Bar and supermodel (and part of Taylor Swift’s #girlsquad) Karlie Kloss. The fashionable treats are wheat-free, dairy-free, and sweetened naturally without added sugar. Try the coco with crunchy pecans and chewy coconut, the dark chocolate 5boro, the rice & spice’s fresh take on the gingersnap classic, or the perfect 10, an oatmeal cookie meets an energy bar, made with gluten free oats, almonds, mini chocolate chips and sweetened with agave. Each purchase of the perfect 10 cookie will provides ten school lunches to hungry children around the world. Talk about sweet #squadgoals! $24.50 for a tin of six, milkbarstore.com
Big Gay Ice Cream Gluten-Free Cones Soft Serve
True ice cream aficionados know that soft serve should be eaten dipped in chocolate and from a cone–not a plastic cup. And while most of the ice cream shops in the city offer gluten-free dairy selections, finding an ice cream store that offers gluten-free cones is not so easy. Big Gay Ice Cream’s signature ice cream creations, like Mermaid and Bea Arthur, all come with gluten-free cones and are customizable. Don’t forget to check out their floats and famous shakes and all the unique toppings you can handle like olive oil and sea salt, cayenne pepper, wasabi pea dust, ginger and elderflower syrups, and seasonal favorite, pumpkin butter. biggayicecream.com
Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery Red Velvet Cake
Tu-Lu’s bakery is a gluten-free dessert lovers’ paradise! Some of their offerings include: cupcakes, muffins, cookies, donuts, brownies, pumpkin and banana bread loafs, and an endless list of cake options, all made from some combination of rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch. But all the sugary goods insiders come here for the famous red velvet cake or his cousin, the spice cake. These two come even come in dairy-free and egg-free versions, and can be customized with unique icings, like Chocolate Almond Buttercream, Coconut, Pistachio or Mint Buttercream, Peach or Raspberry Cream Cheese. tu-lusbakery.com
Dominique Ansel Gluten-Free “Giant Blackberry”
No sweets round up would be complete without mentioning the legendary birth place of the cronut. And while the flaky hybrid concoction is off limits to the G-free crowd, there are other baked marvels to delight at this iconic SoHo bakery. Some of the gluten-free menu items include strawberry pistachio Pavlova, a four-textured chocolate cake, and the “Giant Blackberry.” The latter is a “milk chocolate and rosemary mousse filled with homemade blackberry jam over a chocolate dacquoise cake.” That description alone is worth lining up for. dominiqueansel.com
Magnolia Bakery Lace Meringues
A New York City institution, Magnolia Bakery is not just for those “Sex and the City” cupcakes. Real New Yorkers come for the flourless chocolate cake and the meringues . The fluffy, light dessert, aptly named Chocolate Lace Meringues, is perfect for any sort of family celebration. The ribbons of milky chocolate throughout the crispy cookie add a rich note to the otherwise feather-like dessert. magnoliabakery.com
Jennifer’s Way Bakery Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
A brainchild and passion project of native New Yorker, actress, and Celiac’s Disease sufferer, Jennifer Esposito, Jennifer’s Way Bakery is a gluten-free bakery that is the most Celiac’s-friendly on our list. You can get bagels, donuts, rolls, burger and hot dog buns, cookies, baking mixes, and even a quinoa cake at this East Village gem. Jennifer’s Way does not use any corn flour, corn starch, corn syrup or corn as a major ingredient. In fact, their xanthan gum is derived from cauliflower rather than corn. Try their pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, the fluffy, crumbly, yet soft at the core, sweet treat is packed with chocolate chips and the pumpkin’s fiber and Vitamin A will keep you full longer. And chocolate will lower the risk of heart disease. jenniferswaybakery.com
Juice Generation Matcha Baked Doughnut
Healthy New Yorkers’ go-to place for acai bowls and freshly squeezed green juices, Juice Generation is also on our list thanks to their delicious gluten-free baked goods, like kale, spirulina, cacao, and maca muffins, hemp brownies, coco and almond macaroons, cashew fig scones, and acai pop tarts! Check out their matcha baked doughnut, an item that is known to sell out quickly due to its yummy matcha-green tea flavor and Instagram-ready emerald green color. This doughnut packs in all the antioxidants benefits of matcha tea for those times on the go when you just can’t wait in line for that latte at the Matcha Bar. juicegeneration.com
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Treat House Assorted Gluten-Free 12-Pack
Hosting a baby shower or a child’s birthday party? Look no further than Treat House for one of their themed customizable treat packs. These fun, tasty, and gluten-free concoctions are a new spin on the traditional rice crispy treats with toppings like caramel sea salt, cotton candy gummy bear, chocolate mint, and many more seasonal unique flavors that change all the time. Sample them all by getting an assorted pack or indulge your chocolate lover’s soul by getting the chocolate set. Now with locations on the UES and the UWS, it’s easier than ever to snap these goodies up. treathouse.com
Little Choc Apothecary Gluten-Free Homemade Raw Berry Chia Jam Crepe
Brooklyn’s Little Choc Apothecary in Williamsburg is the first fully vegan crêperie in NYC. They offer a creative selection of sweet and savory crepes sourced from local farms, as well as homemade baked goods. The scrumptious products are completely plant based, free of any chemical binders, gums, artificial flavors, and overly processed sugars and flours. To go with the delicious gluten-free crepes, they also have a liquid menu consisting of freshly pressed juices and individual herb and tea blends that Williamsburg’s health conscious will love. A wide selection of baked sweets (B12 Hazelnut truffles!), savory crepes, and sweet crepes will make this apothecary just what the doctor ordered for those gluten-free sweet cravings. chocny.com
By The Way Bakery Pear Plum Cake
An Upper West Side gluten-free haven, By The Way Bakery, recently added an Upper East Side location, so you don’t have to cross town to try one of their Martha Stewart-approved baked goods. This bakery offers a wide selection of gluten-free cakes, like luscious coconut cloud, raspberry vanilla, spiced carrot, sour cherry coffee cake, “The Schnibbles,” their over the top chocolate Devil’s food cake, as well as small baked goods, like rugelach , and their famous challah praised by the New York Times. Stop by for a slice of beautiful spiral-shaped sweet pear plum gluten free cake for a lovely breakfast treat or a cheat day indulgence. With so many choices, everyone in the family will find something to their liking at this charming local spot. btwbakery.com
Lady M Flourless Chocolate Cake
Lady M, known for their Mille Crêpes cakes, also offers one of the country’s best chocolate cakes according to many gourmet food publications lists. The luxurious, delicate, and gluten-free treat features a sunken top lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Moist with a fine crumb interior and rich on the chocolate, it will be perfect to serve at room temperature or served warm a la mode with some slivered almonds and blackberries at your next festive soiree. ladym.com
Maison Kayser Cookie Touchoco
Meet New York’s arguably best cookie: The gluten free flourless chocolate baked masterpiece that is Cookie Touchoco from Maison Kayser, the award-winning Upper West Side bakery that serves its gluten-free bread to many of the city’s 3-star Michelin restaurants and even to the table of the French President. This cookie is a perfect blend of brownie and cookie, rich and chewy texture, with interplay of bitter and sweet, with chunks of gooey chocolate throughout the dough and a bottom brushed chocolate powder base. See for yourself why nothing compares to these gluten delights. maison-kayser-usa.com
Noglu Chou à la crème
Noglu is an Upper East Side gluten-free gourmand’s dream! It serves traditional pastries such as fruit tarts, éclairs, brioches, chouquettes, Mason jar desserts, and more–and the menu is completely gluten free! The owner Frédérique Jules is a native of France who was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease 15 years ago and then went on to open the first to open a gluten free bakery in the City of Lights. They use a custom blend of rice, millet, potato, and chickpea flours, to crate their artisanal flaky and buttery treats. So next time you have that craving for Papa Beard’s cream puffs, try Noglu’s Chou à la crème instead, the perfect puff dough pastry with fresh berries and lightweight pastry cream inside. noglu.fr
