Where to Find Christmas Treats in Raleigh: Cakes, Desserts & More!

For sweet tooths, the best time of the year has just landed. It’s the holiday season, and that means our favorite bakeries, coffee shops, and desserteries are baking up a batch of seasonal delights that would make even Santa unbuckle his waistband. From peppermint cupcakes to gingerbread cookies, and everything in between, Raleigh is a sugar-coated haven this time of year.

If you find yourself craving a merry sweet treat this Holiday season, here are the best Christmas-themed treats in Raleigh and surrounding areas in Wake County. Whether you’re on a mission to find the perfect holiday dessert to pair with a cup of hot cocoa, or you want to pick up a few tasty options for gifts or stocking fillers, these tasty, sweet treats are filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Tous les Jours

• Address: 300 Village Walk Dr, Holly Springs, NC 27540
• Website: www.tljus.com

What do you get when France and Korea join forces? Decadent cakes (with character surprises), pastries and break all baked from scratch with the finest ingredients. That’s what you’ll find at Tous les Jours in Holly Springs and Cary. For holiday treats you can pick up extravagant cakes like Happy Snowman, Cinnamoroll Chocolate Cake, XMAS strawberry lychee cake and a Hello Kitty holiday cake, and an XMAS Merry Rudolph. What’s great about the Christmas cakes at Tous les Jours is you can pick one up as late as December 24!!

Warning! We spent the morning at Tous les Jours Bakery in Holly Springs and can highly recommend a visit! The bakery items are plentiful and delicious, the space clean and bright, and the coffee good – try the ube latte for a unique Southeast Asian flavor! Read our full review of Tous les Jours in Holly Springs – with lots more photos!

Asali Desserts and Cafe

• Address: 107 Edinburgh S Dr, Suite 106-A, Cary
• Website: asalidessertscafe.com 

Serving gourmet desserts and coffee, Asali Desserts in Cary is well worth the trip to try their Holiday sweet treats. They’re treats are delicious and so aesthetically pleasing year-round!

You can pre-order Holiday desserts for Christmas parties and events up until December 21, or you can pop into the shop for a gingerbread latte and a whimsical Carrot Cakecicles or Turkey Cake Pops! We also love that they have options for gluten free holiday cakes and treats!

Bittersweet

• Address: 16 E Martin St, Raleigh
• Website: bittersweetraleigh.com 

Whenever I’m in the mood for dessert, I choose Bittersweet. All their desserts are baked in-house each day and use all-natural, local, and seasonal ingredients. The winter menu at Bittersweet is full of sweet treats and Holiday-themed cocktails that will get you feeling festive. Back for another year is the Bad Santa dessert. Also on the menu is a Rosemary Gimlet, Yule Log, and Santa’s Cookie Plate. My advice – pair it with an Irish coffee or a spiked Hot Cocoa for a truly indulgent treat! We’re also fans of their Espresso Martinis.

Banko Bake

• Website: bankobake.com 

Raleigh local influencer and baker, Maggie Banko, is accepting pre-orders for her Holiday-themed cookie boxes. If you haven’t seen her bakes on Instagram, you should; they will have you salivating in minutes! The Holiday variety box features four cookies in three indulgent flavors: two Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, a Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie. And if you miss out on ordering your own box, don’t worry, she shares recipes for her sweet treats on her Instagram page, too. I am dying to try this Peppermint Mocha Tiramisu!

Cupcake Shoppe Bakery

• Address: 104 Glenwood Ave
• Website: thecupcakeshopperaleigh.com 

Every week, the Cupcake Shoppe has a special flavor of cupcake and sweet treat inspired by the season, which is only available for that week (check their social media for announcements). 

Throughout December, you can be sure to find something Christmassy and magical on the menu. Wintery flavors from previous years have included dipped peppermint cookies, Chocolate Peppermint cupcakes, Gingerbread cupcakes, Eggnog Cupcakes, and they also had homemade marshmallows on sale in 2024. As well as cupcakes, you can also get seasonal specialty coffees, as well as hot cocoa, gingerbread cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other sweet treats.

Edible Art Bakery & Dessert Cafe

• Address: 4351-115 The Cir At N Hills St
• Website: edibleartbakery.com 

Like Cupcake Shoppe, Edible Art Bakery has special one-off flavors, with a rotating menu changing every 6-8 weeks. On the menu for December are ten unique sweet treats inspired by Christmas. Cupcake flavors available for the Holiday season are: Chocolate Peppermint, Crème Brûlée, Apple Pie, Maple Pecan Pie, Gingerbread Cheesecake, Snickerdoodle, Pumpkin Latte, Vanilla Bean, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Holly Red Velvet. Which will you choose?

Idle Hour Coffee Roasters

• Address: 1818 Oberlin Rd
• Website: instagram.com/idlehour_coffee/ 

No coffee shop does Christmas like Idle Hour. Not only do they have a Holiday-themed latte flight with four tasty specialty coffees, but they also have the most whimsical desserts to pair it with. Their desserts look as good as they taste, with desserts shaped like the flavor they’re made with – the Granny Smith Apple cake and Strawberry & Raspberry Cheesecake Mushroom have been hits this season. Also, the Hot Cocoa Bombs are back for another wintery season if you want a festive drink that’s fun – see the reel above! Bring your kids, they will love them!

Premier Cakes

• Address: 6617 Falls of Neuse Rd #105
• Website: premier-cakes.com 

If you’re looking to get a sweet treat to share with family and friends, Premier Cakes is now open to pre-orders for the Christmas season and makes made-to-order layered cakes. 

It has a selection of Holiday flavors to choose from – my go-to would be Sweet Potato Cake or New Orleans Bread Pudding, but they also have classics like 14K Carrot Cake, Old South Hummingbird Cake, and Red Velvet Cake. It’s also selling pies, such as Pecan Pie and Sweet Potato Pie. Due to product availability and staffing, if you want to get a Holiday cake from Premier Cakes, you’re going to need to put your order in ASAP to avoid disappointment. 

Southern Sugar Bakery

• Address: 4517 Lead Mine Rd, Suite B 
• Website: southernsugarbakery.com 

If you want to add some sweet treats to a stocking filler, then why not get some special sugar cookies from Southern Sugar Bakery, who have a large selection of handmade sugar cookies available for the Holiday season. It has not only Christmassy decorated sugar cookies, but also cookie decorating kits, mini cookie calendars, and an annual favorite, Chocolate Peppermint Drizzle drop cookies. You can also order personalized cookies as well.

Sugar Euphoria

• Address: 606 N. Person Street
• Website: sugareuphoria.com

Sugar Euphoria is an artisan cake shop by Randi Smith, who is creating some really indulgent and delicious sweet treats this Holiday season. For the first two weeks of December, she will be creating a limited supply of Chocolate Peppermint Brownies, Salted Caramel Eggnog, and Gingerbread, and the third and fourth weeks of December, Randi and her team will be making Milk & Cookies, Santa’s Midnight Snack, and Nutcracker Cookie Cupcakes.

She also makes festive macarons and festive drinks, such as Black Cherry Vanilla Matcha, Fig & Honey Matcha, and an Iced Tiramisu Latte. There are also some more contemporary holiday favs on the menu, such as a Gingerbread Latte.

Two Roosters Ice Cream

• Address: multiple locations
• Website: tworoosters.com

You might think it’s a bit cold for ice cream in December, but Two Roosters says otherwise. And looking at the winter menu, I happen to agree with them. In December, you can pick up some seasonal treats such as Peppermint Crack Bar Ice Cream Sammies – an ice cream sandwich made with two chocolate brownie cookies and rolled in crushed peppermint.  They also have the Peppermint Crack Bar Cake – an Oreo-butter crust, layered with loads of Peppermint Crack Bar ice cream and topped with whipped cream, crushed peppermint, and a fudge drizzle.

There’s also some ice cream bowls with festive flavors to choose from. Choose between Reindeer Tracks (vanilla ice cream with Chex cereal covered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar, pretzel chunks, chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, red and green M&Ms, and a fudge swirl) or a classic Gingerbread or Butterscotch Haystack option.

For something fruity, also just for December, is a Coconut & Spiced Rum bowl made with coconut and rumchata ice cream infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. There’s also a non-dairy Christmas Cookie option topped with crushed gluten-free shortbread cookies, holiday sprinkles, and dairy-free buttercream.

Videri Chocolate Factory

• Address: 327 W Davie St
• Website: viderichocolatefactory.com 

Lastly, an obvious option for chocolate and sweet deliciousness, Videri Chocolate Factory has a handful of mouthwatering options to choose from this Christmas season. As well as having sweet treats available in store, you can also pick up a Bonbon Box, all made from bean-to-bar, already gift wrapped and ready to give to friends and family. 

Also available in store are Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Trees, Peppermint Express Candy Bars, and Snackers Candy Bars. They would pair nicely with a freshly brewed coffee from Black and White Coffee Roasters, who share the same site, and has a seasonal blend (Merry and Bright) just for the Holiday season.

Groovy Duck Bakery

• Address: 3434 Edwards Mill Rd #110
• Website: groovyduckbakery.com

Known for its chunky cookies, Groovy Duck is where to go for an indulgent sweet treat this Christmas. This year, it will be selling festive gingerbread cookies, shaped like reindeer, Christmas trees, snowmen, snowflakes, and stockings.