Bakeries You Absolutely Need to Know About

Want to know who doles out the best buttery, sugary creations in cities across North America? Of course you do — because these last few months of 2016 are going to be all about as many cakes, cookies, breads, and Sriracaha croissants as you can handle. You'll be running into sweet treats at cookie swaps, office parties, and family outings. Heck, you'll probably even get some dessert-like gifts.

To meet the additional demand, bakeries across the country are stepping up their game. So why would you bring supermarket cake or stale croissants anywhere — let alone eat them? As of this moment, you officially don't have any excuses: Eater editors have gathered together the best baked good peddlers in all the land. A sampler of some of the treats listed here: chocolate- and green tea-mousse-filled eclairs from Oyatsupan Bakers in Portland, orange and black fall-themed chocolate-covered butter cookies at Boston's Lakota Bakery, towering Italian cream cakes to feed a crowd at Cake Bar in Dallas, and so much more. In short, these lists are not messing around. Have at it.

Is your favorite bakery missing from one of the lists below? What a bummer. Please share the love by hitting tips@eater.com and we'll consider adding it.