Coffee & Treats in Arden-Arcade

Each day at dawn, piping-hot circles appear on the horizon, enchanting eyes and noses before popping into mouths. Unlike the sun, these rounds teem with sugar, spice, and in some cases, chocolate. Bakers craft each batch from scratch, using original recipes but not a pinch of preservatives. Their cookie roster beckons sweet teeth with everyday flavors such as M&M chocolate chip and day-of-the-week varieties such as Wednesday's almond joy and Friday's mint-chocolate fantasy fudge. Customers may also opt for custom wedding treats and personalized photo cookies, which serve as memories tastier than crepes rolled from diary pages. In addition to building cookie cakes for parties, the bakers construct cookies for celebrants to embellish with frosting.

For 20 years, Yogurt Delite's dairy mavens have plunged scoops into an ever-changing cast of seven daily frozen yogurts and custards. Waffle cones and megaphones in disguise catch creamy mounds of cake batter, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and blueberry cheesecake, as well as ample sugar-free and lactose-free varietals. Staff sprinkle scoops with 40 different toppings that span the wholesomeness spectrum, from fresh fruit to rivulets of warm marshmallow fudge. Smoothies merge nonfat vanilla yogurt with tropical fruits and supplements that imbue slurpers with energy to fight colds and dodge oncoming sneezes. Additionally, confectionary gurus mold frozen yogurts into chocolate-draped cakes and pies.

The cupcake chefs at Vanilla Bean Gourmet make each cupcake by hand, imbuing them with fine ingredients to please the taste buds and an inventive design to please the eyes. Their many artisanal options include the bacon-maple bar, a vanilla cupcake topped with maple frosting and a crispy slice of applewood-smoked bacon. Other flavors include the chai-tea-latte cupcake, which they sprinkle with freshly ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves before plopping a dollop of homemade whipped cream on top. If the recipe calls for vanilla or chocolate, chefs use only real vanilla beans and Valrhona chocolate, which is as delicious as the thought of crushing your enemy's favorite Fabergé egg. Whenever possible, they procure all other ingredients locally from organic and sustainable sources. Frozen yogurt rounds out Vanilla Bean's menu, with toppings including chocolate chips, Reese’s pieces, and cookie crumbs.

What's the Scoop? Ice Cream & More doles out chilly treats crafted from Gunther’s Ice Cream, a Sacramento staple renowned for its richness. Blended with 16% butterfat cream, as opposed to the 10-12% used in commercial brands, Gunther’s hearty dessert stands ready to take on topping such as hot fudge, brownies, and marshmallow, or hop into containers for field trips to distant freezers. In addition to its signature scoops, the shop also doles out shaved ice, tangy fruit freezes, and ice cream cakes and pies.

The staff at Juice It Up! conducts a symphony of whirring blenders, juice squeezers, and chattering ice in an effort to promote health. The smoothies and juices are colorful canvases whose crimson, emerald, and goldenrod hues are drawn from a palette of nonfat yogurts, sherbets, and acai berries as well as watermelon juice, chai tea, and ginseng. Nutritional supplements add a blast of energy, proteins, echinacea, or vitamins to drinks before a tough workout or a visit to tell a motorcycle gang its loan has not been approved.