The 12 Best Desserts in Louisville: from Ice Cream to Pie (& more!)
Let’s be honest: dessert is its own meal. It’s like 11sies, or 4th meal, or 2nd breakfast: totally legit and definitely a real meal. Anyway, we happily sacrificed our health to compile this list of the best places to satisfy your sweet tooth in Louisville. Whether you’re looking for something fancy, a Louisville specialty, or just want to indulge in an ice cream sundae, these are the best places for desserts in Louisville!
While you’re here, check out some of our other food posts:
- 13 Famous Louisville (& Kentucky) Foods You Have to Try
- The 45 Best Places to Eat in Louisville, Kentucky
- The 8 Best Louisville Ice Cream Shops: from Cones to Sundaes (& more)!
- The Best Louisville Vegan Restaurants (& What to Order!)
Louisville Cream
Roasted peaches. Bourbon smoked pecans. Mascarpone swirled with homemade strawberry jam. Are you drooling yet??
Louisville Cream makes ice cream that sounds like desserts at a high-end restaurant, topped with baked goods and mix-ins that elevate their cones from “amazing” to “am I dreaming??” Case in point: see my photo above of a strawberry mascarpone ice cream cone with a toasted marshmallow topping and cinnamon-sugar brioche bites. And that’s just, like, run of the mill here.
In addition to truly ridiculous ice cream cones, they also have delicious ice cream floats, made with craft soda like Kentucky’s own Ale8 and Sioux City Cream Soda.
Grab something cold and sweet on a hot day and stroll around NuLu for the perfect Louisville afternoon pick-me-up.
- Louisville Cream | Address: 632 E Market St #101, Louisville, KY
The Comfy Cow
Louisville is home to some amazing local ice cream. But my heart belongs to The Comfy Cow , primarily because Comfy Cow has mastered my new favorite flavor: Bourbon Ball! Y’all, it’s just as good as it sounds: it tastes like chocolate and bourbon and bourbon ball cream filling and heaven.
At one of the many Comfy Cow locations in Louisville (including in the airport, for a send-off treat) you’ll find several delectable bourbon and Kentucky themed flavors, which are frequently replaced with new limited-edition flavors.
For example: an Old Fashioned ice cream with bourbon and Angostura bitters; spiced carrot cake with a cream cheese swirl; white chocolate ice cream with a blueberry cobbler swirl; chocolate ice cream with swirls of Bourbon ganache.
Can’t pick? Just get a flight. Yup, they have ice cream flights.
If you really, really love someone, you can ship them a selection of Comfy Cow ice cream, nestled in dry ice, which we happen to know about first-hand because it was one of the best Christmas gifts we’d ever received (major props to my dad for that one).
- The Comfy Cow | Address: There are several locations in Louisville. Find one near you!
Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen
A Louisville institution, you’ll find Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen sprinkled throughout the city. They’re all serving up exactly what they claim: delicious homemade ice cream… and fantastic pie!
With ice cream flavors ranging from Maple Walnut to Mint Chocolate Chip, you’ll find something for every palate. But the real star here is the pie. Their best selling pie flavor is the Kentucky Butter Pie (of course), which combines a smooth custard with flaky crust into one fantastic dessert!
Other faves? Chocolate cherry pie, Italian Cream Cake, and Chocolate Chess Pie. Yum.
Oh – and if you visit during Derby Season, you’ll find Chocolate Pecan Horse Racing Themed Pie (or whatever they’re calling it that definitely isn’t Derby Pie(tm), wink wink). Their version is made with pecans and the original is made with walnuts, but you know what? They’re both delicious.
If you haven’t tried a chocolate nut horse racing-themed pie, you absolutely must try this classic Louisville dessert – it’s one of the most famous Louisville foods! Just … don’t ask for it by name. Because someone might get sued.
- Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen | Address: There are many Louisville locations! Find one near you.
Art Eatables
Art Eatables is best known for their delicious Bourbon Truffles, smooth nut-free chocolates filled with bourbony chocolate ganache. Art Eatables partners with most Kentucky bourbon distilleries, so if you have a favorite brand, you’ll probably find a bourbon truffle made from it. A box of these are a staple for gift-giving at Christmastime, but trust: they are deliciously appropriate at any time during the year.
Art Eatables also makes a unique creation of their own called “chimeres,” a velvety-smooth chocolate that melts in your mouth. Their famous Orange Chimere is part of the Angel’s Envy tasting experience at their downtown Louisville distillery, pairing the chocolate and orange treat with a smooth glass of Angel’s Envy bourbon.
Yes, y’all – bourbon and chocolate pairings are a thing and Art Eatables has perfected them.
- Art Eatables | Address: 631 S 4th St, Louisville, KY (Downtown)
Please & Thank You
Please & Thank You claims to serve the best chocolate chip cookie in Louisville. But we think they make the best chocolate chip cookie IN LITERALLY THE WORLD, and I’m not even exaggerating.
Gooey and chocolatey with a warm, molten core, it’s like the pleasure of eating warm cookie dough combined with the satisfying crunch around the outside of a well-baked cookie. There’s also a hint of salt which totally takes it to the next level.
Look, just go there and get a cookie. Or three. We won’t judge. Either way you won’t regret it.
Don’t skip the coffee, either: Please & Thank You makes a damn fine cup of coffee, crafted with beans from local roastery Good Folks.
- Please & Thank You | Address: There are several Louisville locations. Find one near you!
Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli
Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli is one of the oldest bakeries in Louisville, serving Kentuckiana since 1891. That’s a long a** time. Over the last 130+ years Heitzman has grown quite a following, so it’s no surprise they have some of the best donuts in Louisville!
Needless to say this “traditional bakery” is nostalgic and serves up some classic donuts, and it can be hard to move past the irresistible goodness of just a plain traditional glazed donut. Why mess up a good thing?
There are also soft fluffy apple fritters, Honey Buns and sticky-sweet Crullers that are always the hit of the bakery case. Basically whatever you get is tried and true, and will take you back to when you used to be a small Victorian child. Those were the days.
Heitzman does weddings, too, if you are dreaming of a tired donut cake for your special day!
- Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli | Address: 9426 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40222 (J-Town)
Kizito Cookie Factory
Craving a huge, delicious, traditional style cookie – or some yummy cookie dough? Head to the Kizito Cookie Factory (or stop by any local Walgreens or Qdoba – they’re for sale all over the place).
Elizabeth Kizito started making cookies when she moved here from Uganda in 1975, and locals all recognize her at events walking around with a huge basket of cookies on her head!
The Kizito Cookie Factory also sells folk art from Uganda that her family ships to her. She says that her secret ingredient is “my family’s love and perseverance; the beauty and magic of Africa; the American Dream; are all mixed in next to the chocolate chips and butter and nuts.” She is a true Louisville original!
My favorite flavors are Gettin’ Lucky in Kentucky, Snickerdoodle, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip.
- Kizito Cookie Factory | Address: 1398 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY (The Highlands)
Hi-Five Doughnuts
If you’re in a Homer Simpson kinda mood, good news: Louisville has some excellent donuts!
Hi-Five Doughnuts is the go-to donut spot for the more adventurous donut lover. You’ll find some unusual, only-in-Kentucky flavors like Bourbon Ball (*record scratch* Um what?) or The Old Fashioned, with a Cherry Brandy Compote glaze, topped with a brandy-soaked cherry and candied orange peel.
Or go a little more “classic,” if you can call it that, and try a Sinnamon Toast Crunch donut (because it’s sinfully delicious, get it!). They even have a build-your-own option, if you’re feeling extra creative! Psst, by the way, their Instagram is everything!
- Hi-Five Doughnuts | Address: 1011 East Main Street, Louisville, KY(Butchertown)
Nord’s Bakery
Nord’s Bakery is perhaps best known for their Danish pastries, but they also have a whole case full of delicious fresh-baked breads that are worth grabbing on your way out. If you’re in the mood for a pastry, we recommend trying a chocolate croissant or the almond bear claw.
But the real treat here is the donuts. Nord’s tends to have more classic donut flavors, with the exception of their famous Maple Bacon Bar.
- Nord’s Bakery | Address: 2118 S Preston St Louisville, KY (Germantown)
Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe
Two words: Kouign Amann.
If those words mean nothing to you, don’t worry: I definitely didn’t just make up some gibberish – France did.
A Kouign Amann is a French pastry that’s basically like if a croissant and a cake had a baby, and then covered that baby in butter and sugar and shaped it sort of like a muffin. It’s like a muffin-shaped crossaint with a buttery, crunchy sugar coating and a soft inside filling.
The New York Times described it as “the fattiest pastry in all of Europe,” and we consider that to be a very good thing.
The Kouign Amann is a delicious pastry that’s very hard to master – you’ll find this treat at very few bakeries in the United States. But the Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe, a Louisville bakery that specializes in European breads and pastries, has mastered it! So watch the Kouign Amann episode of the Great British Bake-Off, wipe off your drool and stop accidentally speaking with a British accent, and head to Blue Dog to try one.
If sugary, butter-soaked croissants are a little much for you, you’ll find plenty of other delicious baked goods here, from macarons to cookies to morning buns to small cakes to regular old chocolate-stuffed croissants.
Just don’t save your sweet tooth until late at night – the bakery closes at 4 PM! (It’s also closed Sunday and Monday.)
- Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe | Address: 2868 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY
Georgia’s Sweet Potato Pie Company
You can probably guess what you’ll want to order here from the name: Georgia’s is known for their sweet and creamy sweet potato pie with a flakey crust. Try a bite-sized pie in the original Southern classic, or an upgraded version like a Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Pie.
But there’s a LOT more offered on the menu than pie: you can also try delicious cheesecake, cupcakes, cakes, brownies, and vegan pies and muffins – all made with sweet potato!
Best of all is the mission behind the business: the sweet potato products allow the bakery to offer free children’s books about love, diversity, and acceptance. By eating delicious sweet treats, you’ll also be supporting the local Louisville community.
Georgia’s donates impactful books to local children through their Pies with Purpose project. Parents can bring their children to the bakery and pick up as many books as they like, and there are also readings hosted at the bakery for children and families to enjoy. Be sure to follow their Instagram to find out more!
- Georgia’s Sweet Potato Pie Company | Address: 1559 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY
Bae’s Bakery
Fancy a massive cookie, possibly stuffed with an entire Oreo, Snickers bar, or Pop Tart? Yes, right?! Us too.
High-tail it to Bae’s Baekery for the largest cookie of your entire life. You might try a Step Off My Biscoff cookie, swirled with caramel and butterscotch, spices, and stuffed full of Biscoff Cookie Butter buttercream. Or Apple of my Pie, swirled with gooey caramel, creamy white chocolate chips, and jammed full of fresh apple pie filling. Or The Salty Beach, a fudge brownie base cookie swirled with butterscotch and chocolate chips, crushed salty pretzel, caramel bits, and shoved full of caramel buttercream. The punny names are almost as good as the cookies.
But there’s more than just really, ridiculously large cookies here. There are also beautifully decorated cakes, yummy brownies, and stuffed cream puffs. Come hungry, y’all.
Bae’s Bakery also occasionally offers cake decorating classes, and serves as a micro-incubator for other women-owned baking startups in Louisville! How rad is that?
- Bae’s Bakery | Address: Inside Logan Street Market and 1164 S. Brook Street, Louisville, KY
Louisville, Kentucky has some truly delicious desserts. Whether you want cookies or cakes, donuts or pie, we hope that our list of the best local spots for desserts in Louisville will satisfy your sweet tooth. Share this list with all of your friends and drop me a comment on where I should try next!
While you’re here, check out some of our other food posts:
- 13 Famous Louisville (& Kentucky) Foods You Have to Try
- The 19 Best Restaurants for Brunch in Louisville, Kentucky
- The 8 Best Louisville Ice Cream Shops: from Cones to Sundaes (& more)!
- The Best Louisville Vegan Restaurants (& What to Order!)
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