Federhofer's Bakery is a bakery in Affton, St. Louis.
A decades-old Affton bakery, Federhofer's makes a distinctive gooey butter cake without cream cheese or powdered sugar, plus full cases of cakes and cookies.
Tip: Its gooey butter is a denser style than the cream-cheese versions. Come early for the freshest cases.
Address: 9005 Gravois Rd, St. Louis, MO 63123
A family-run Italian-American bakery on The Hill, Missouri Baking Company is famous for cookies by the pound and a dense, almond-paste gooey butter cake.
Tip: It is cash-and-pickup with no online ordering; buy cookies by weight. Weekend mornings see a line of Hill regulars.
Worth the queue: Almond-paste gooey butter cake and cookies
Chef Simone Faure's French patisserie in Botanical Heights turns out macarons, croissants and cakes with classical technique. The city's French bakery.
Tip: Macarons and laminated pastries are the strengths; custom cakes are a specialty. The morning croissants go quickly.
Worth the queue: Macarons and laminated pastries
Award-winning pastry chef Nathaniel Reid makes precise modern French entremets, tarts and viennoiserie in Kirkwood, rated the metro's finest pastry case.
Tip: The seasonal entremets and the croissants are the standouts. It draws a weekend crowd, so go early.
Worth the queue: Entremets, tarts and viennoiserie
Whisk bakes cakes, cookies and seasonal pastries from scratch on Cherokee Street with a sustainability focus, a community-minded anchor of the Cherokee crawl.
Tip: The seasonal cakes and the cookies are the orders. It shares the Cherokee Street block with the Mud House coffee crowd.
Worth the queue: Cakes, cookies and seasonal pastries
A tiny Lindenwood Park bakery, Pint Size turns out muffins, scones and a cult salted caramel-chocolate cookie alongside Kaldi's coffee. A peanut-free kitchen.
Tip: The salted caramel-chocolate cookie is the order, and stock is small. Get there before mid-morning on Saturdays.
Worth the queue: Salted caramel-chocolate cookies and muffins
A small Dogtown bakery, Sugaree specialises in scratch pies and layer cakes, a neighbourhood spot known for seasonal fruit pies. Weekend hours only.
Tip: It is open only Friday to Sunday, so plan accordingly. The seasonal fruit pies and the cakes are the reasons to go.
Worth the queue: Seasonal fruit pies and cakes
