If you’re visiting a loved one or attending a party this holiday season, you’ll probably ask, “But what can I bring?” The answer? A holiday dessert, of course. There’s nothing like bonding over a perfectly-baked gingerbread cookie or decadent chocolate cake this time of year. For those who want to impress dinner party guests, the Montclair area has a seemingly endless amount of options to choose from. Read on for the bakeries and shops in Montclair Essex County for next-level holiday-themed desserts.
Calandra’s Bakery | 204 First Avenue, Newark + 244 U.S. Highway 46 East, Fairfield + 234 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell
View this post on Instagram
With three different locations in North Jersey, the options are endless when it comes to choosing a holiday dessert at Calandra’s. Currently, Calandra’s has butter cookies that are topped with red, green, and white sprinkles. Aside from cookies, the regular dessert options here include cakes, cannolis, and pies.
Gencarelli’s Bakery | 446 Broad Street, Bloomfield
View this post on Instagram
This family-owned, family-operated bakery has an assortment of holiday desserts available. Its shelves are stocked with Italian desserts like struffoli (honey balls) and panettone (Christmas bread). There is also the classic holiday favorite of fruit cake topped with pecans and dried fruit. Cookie baskets are another option at Gencarelli’s — which are also perfect for gift-giving.
Jayce Baudry French Pastry | 17 Church Street, Montclair
View this post on Instagram
Where elegance meets pastries — Jayce Baudry put a holiday twist on its classic cheesecake with peppermint, Tahitian vanilla bean cheesecake batter, baked with a chocolate crumble crust, and topped with a mini gingerbread man.
Montclair Bread Company | 16 Label Street, Montclair
View this post on Instagram
Montclair Bread Company takes its fresh, soft doughnuts and adds a holiday twist to them. For December, there are four new doughnut flavors — eggnog, salted caramel cream, chocolate cream, and peanut butter cream. If looking for a DIY experience, Montclair Bread Company is selling a holiday DIY doughnut kit. It comes with six plain doughnuts with topping containers for decorating.
Read More: Where to Get Fresh Bread in the Montclair Area
The Able Baker | 187 Maplewood Avenue, Maplewood
View this post on Instagram
Cakes, cookies, and other pastries are currently available for orders — The Able Baker is a one-stop shop for all holiday dessert needs.
The Cookie Connect | 405 W Passaic Avenue, Bloomfield
View this post on Instagram
If you’re looking for oozy, chocolaty, cookie creativeness, The Cookie Connect is your spot. For the holidays, this spot is offering a Double Chocolate Dutch Cocoa cookie — and get this, it’s topped with a peppermint glaze and crunchy peppermint candy bits.
The Little Daisy Bakeshop | 622 Valley Road, Montclair
View this post on Instagram
For cheeky sugar cookies with snowmen and other holiday options, Little Daisy Bakeshop has it covered.
Stuff by SJ | 342 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
View this post on Instagram
This custom cake, cupcake, and chocolate treat shop has a festive lineup of decadent sweets for the holidays. There is a holiday buttercream board that comes with a gingerbread figure in the middle and surrounding finger foods like cookies, brownies, pretzels, and cake pieces. Other choices include the holiday mug cake, holiday wreath cakes, and a champagne cake.
Vesta Chocolate | 598 Valley R0ad, Upper Montclair
View this post on Instagram
For a truly decadent dessert, opt for Vesta Chocolate’s Holiday Jewel Bonbon Collection. It includes candy cane, vanilla, gingerbread, Earl Grey, salted caramel, and eggnog. They’re like little ornaments in a box.
Willow + Olivia | 255 Main Street, West Orange
For the holiday season, customers can choose from a variety of desserts. Holiday cakes, cupcakes, and its cookie collection have festive figurines like Santa, a reindeer, and a candy cane. All of Willow and Olivia’s holiday menu can be viewed here.
See More: A Definitive List of Hoboken Desserts You Must Eat ASAP
Bonus
Mattarello Bakery | 254 Bellevue Avenue, Montclair
View this post on Instagram
Mattarello’s holiday baskets are filled with authentic Italian treats — a perfect gift for a colleague.
Somedays Bakery Opens in Montclair
Since the opening of its Montclair location in 2023, Chip City has become Montclairons' go-to for all of their cookie cravings. After spotting signage on Bellevue Avenue earlier this year, the team behind Chip City has now brought its newest concept, Somedays Bakery, a cafe specializing in artisanal croissants, to the Montclair community. The Montclair store officially opened on Friday, June 27th. Read on for what we know about Somedays Bakery's third location (and first New Jersey site) in Montclair, New Jersey.
Photo Credit: Mike Chau
Somedays Bakery's Arrival in Montclair
Cookie franchise Chip City has a sister brand that serves artisanal croissants, cakes, specialty coffee, soft serve, and almost every sweet treat one could think of. Somedays Bakery, which first opened to the public in Astoria, New York, in the spring of 2024, put up signage back in March on Bellevue Avenue next to the dearly missed Bellevue Theatre — which is currently undergoing renovations.
Photo Credit: Mike Chau
Read More: New Lingerie Design Studio, Greymade, Opens in Montclair
The future Montclair spot follows a series of expansions, with Someday's Long Island City location, which opened on January 31st, being the most recent. According to the Astoria Post, a Bay Terrace site is also in the works. Someday's Montclair site is the company's fourth location in the Northeast region and the first New Jersey location.
Photo Credit: Mike Chau
Upon visiting the store, locals can expect sweet and savory treats made from scratch on-site that take an innovative twist on the traditional croissant. The menu consists of items like the Pistachio Lattice, which features pistachio frangipane, raspberry jam, white chocolate, and an intricate laatice design; the, the smoked salmon croissant, and more. Somedays Bakery also serves La Colombe coffee beverages, tea, and cakes.
Photo Credit: Mike Chau
There was complimentary soft serve while supplies lasted at the opening on Friday, June 27th.
About Chip City
The cookie company, Chip City, has quickly expanded throughout New York’s boroughs and the Northern New Jersey areas, opening locations in Hoboken, Newark, and — of course — Montclair at 2 Church Street.
The cookie company serves its customers over 16 different cookies, ranging from classics like chocolate chip to explorative flavors like the signature s’mores. Chip City also releases a revolving menu of “ooey and gooey” flavors each week. Some of the popular flavors in the past have included glazed pear, red velvet cheesecake, white chocolate, snickerdoodle, butterscotch toffee, and cookies + cream. To find the weekly options, see here.
See More: Blue Angel Artisan Cafe + Bakery Soft Opens on Hudson Street in Hoboken
To stay up to date on the latest Montclair + Northern New Jersey news, follow @themontclairgirl on Instagram and TikTok, sign up for our newsletter that shares the top stories in your inbox here, and check out our events calendar.
