
Warm and tasty comfort food is a must in the Bay Area’s characteristic foggy weather, and freshly-baked cookies truly hit the spot. From fortune cookies to gooey chocolate chip, these specialty cookie shops and tried-and-true bakeries are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings. Read on to discover our picks for the best cookies in San Francisco.
1. Anthony’s Cookies
Anthony Lucas started selling cookies out of his car in the Bay Area in 1997, and Anthony’s Cookies has since grown into a large enterprise producing thousands of cookies a week. They offer 10 cookie flavors, the most popular ones being cookies & cream and their classic chocolate chip. You can also step up your cookie game with a decadent ice cream sandwich.
Location: 1417 Valencia St, Mission District
2. Hot Cookie
Whether you prefer your cookies naughty or nice, Hot Cookie is a Castro staple for delicious sweet treats all year round. The lively cookie shop works hard to create a fun and engaging experience, with energetic music blasting and wall-to-wall photos of customers posing in Hot Cookie apparel. Their display case is stocked with plenty of chewy, freshly-baked cookies, including their famous Penis and Vagina Cookies, all of which vary with the seasons and holidays.
Location: 407 Castro St, Castro District
3. Batter Bakery
Hardworking baker Jen Musty founded this small-batch gourmet bakery in 2008. These delicious treats always showcase local ingredients and whole grains, and there are plenty of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and sugar-free options as well. Some of the more creative cookie flavors include chocolate tahini avocado, cherry ginger, and honey sesame.
Location: 1517 Pine St, Nob Hill
4. Baked Bear
Here’s your go-to spot for custom ice cream sandwiches made with fresh-baked cookies and brownies. Not only can you mix and match your top and bottom cookie (flavors include classic chocolate chip, Funfetti, snickerdoodle, and vegan options), but you can also have your ice cream sandwich rolled in toppings around the edge such as Fruity Pebbles and mini M&Ms.
Locations:
- 303 Columbus Ave, Russian Hill
- 2824 Jones St, Fisherman’s Wharf
5. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
Since 1962, the massively famous Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has produced thousands of hand-made fortune cookies every day. The cookies are baked on a cast iron rotating griddle wheel, and guests can create their own fortune to be added inside of the cookie before it’s twisted into shape. The classic vanilla flavors are fantastic, but the factory also produces fortune cookies in strawberry, chocolate, and green tea flavors which can be glazed or dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. You can also pick up their popular flat fortune cookies which are delicious with ice cream.
Location: 56 Ross Alley, Chinatown
6. Tartine
Tartine has been a San Francisco staple forever! They’re well-known for their excellent breads (make sure you grab a sourdough loaf), but the pastries and cookies receive the same amount of careful attention. Try the shortbread, chocolate chip walnut, and chocolate salted buckwheat cookies, just to name a few.
Location:
- 600 Guerrero St, Mission Dolores
- 595 Alabama St, Mission District
- 1226 9th Ave, Inner Sunset
7. Jane
Find a great spread of mouthwatering cookies at all 7 SF locations of this bakery powerhouse. Everything is baked in-house at Jane the Bakery in the Lower Fillmore (where you’ll find the best selection), but any one of their outposts will have delicious options such as chocolate chip toffee, salted white chocolate oatmeal, and chewy triple ginger.
Locations:
- Jane on Fillmore: 2123 Fillmore St, Pacific Heights
- Jane on Larkin: 925 Larkin St, Lower Nob Hill
- Jane the Bakery: 1881 Geary Boulevard, Japantown
- Toy Boat by Jane: 401 Clement St, Inner Richmond
- Little Jane on Grant: 752 Grant Ave, Chinatown
- Jane’s Sweet Things: 3585 California St, Laurel Heights
- Jane at the Cove/Sweet Things: 1 Blackwood Dr, Tiburon
8. Stella Pastry & Cafe
This one-stop-shop for Italian baked goods is a must-visit next time you’re in North Beach. The display cases seem to house an endless selection of cakes and pastries, but the cookie selection is unrivaled. Take home a variety of buttery Italian wedding cookies, pizzicati “pinch” cookies, biscotti, almond-flavored lemon amaretti cookies, and jam-filled sugar cookies, and plenty more.
Location: 446 Columbus Ave, North Beach
9. Arizmendi
Arizmendi is a worker-owned cooperative famous for its work with Cheeseboard pizza in Oakland. The menu varies each day and seasonally, meaning you’ll always find new flavor combos! This bakery boasts an impressive bread selection, but the cookies are also to die for — go for classic chocolate chip; ricciarelli, a gluten-free Italian almond cookie; crunchy Kookie Brittle; flavored shortbread; or a Cowgirl Cookie with oats, raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips. You can pick up a Variety Cookie Bag for $11 which includes a nice selection of 10-12 cookies.
Locations
- 1331 9th Ave, Inner Sunset
- 1272 Valencia St, Dolores Heights
10. Little Bee Baking
Stacie Pierce opened Little Bee Baking after completing 9 years as the Pastry Chef for Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Her thriving pastry shop in Bernal Heights is a lovely hidden gem which has been serving the neighborhood for nearly a decade. Choose from a selection of perfectly-made treats including delicious assorted cookies highlighting fresh seasonal ingredients.
Location: 521 Cortland Ave, Bernal Heights
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