Coffee & Treats in Dedham

Chocolate changed David and Pam Griffin's lives. David was more than three decades into a manufacturing career, while his wife, Pam, was 16 years deep in a career at a major coffee chain. The two became restless in their respective careers, so they left their jobs and looked for a joint business venture. They both settled on chocolate, inspiring David to begin studying under experienced pastry chef Delphin Gnomes at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. He started to create his own chocolate varieties, often incorporating healthy ingredients. In fact, his first creation was a dairy-free dark chocolate topped with pistachio. Pam, meanwhile, wanted to come up with an appropriate name for the business that reflects the catharsis and creativity chocolate can inspire. Hence, Chocolate Therapy was born. Today, the duo continues to produce innovative treats, displaying their decadent oeuvre in their store’s glass display case.

David and Pam can also schedule parties at their store. During the festivities, adults, children, or undercover oompa loompas masquerading as children can tour the chocolate-making facility and discover the secrets behind how the Griffins create their truffles, dipped caramels, and molded chocolates.

The Dancing Deer Baking Co. story begins nearly two decades ago, when three Bostonians opened up a small bakery on a busy corner. The trio christened their company after an antique shop run by one of their grandmothers supplied them with a recipe for a dark-gingerbread cake. One afternoon, a food writer from Hollywood stumbled into the shop, hoping to find directions. After tasting one of their cakes, the captivated writer brought the bakery to the attention of the media, and soon their cookies, brownies, and cakes were being lauded by magazines, newspapers, and television programs throughout the country.

Today, Dancing Deer’s boldly colorful packages ship to households across the US and line the shelves of numerous gourmet and specialty retailers. Back at the bakery, chefs continue to whip all-natural, kosher ingredients into decadent cookies, brownies, and cakes. Committed to giving back to their local communities, Dancing Deer owns and operates The Sweet Home Project, which funds direct-action programs to help underprivileged families and the occasional one-legged gingerbread man.

The Sweeterie Inc. took over the Ice Jack in Norwood center. We are locally owned and make home made ice cream. ice cream cakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and of course the home of the hot chocolate ice cream float. Plus we sell a variety of candy sweets,

Housemade buttercream frosting sits atop cupcakes with as much majesty as the snowcapped peaks of the Andes. These monumental treats—which, according to the Boston Globe, come in 60 rotating flavors—aren't the only bit of magic up Sugar Bakery’s sleeve. Croissants, coffee rolls, and lemon and fig squares fill the display case alongside nearly 20 varieties of cookie, from classic chocolate chunk and oatmeal to the shop’s signature raspberry-tart brambles. Customers can also preorder fudge cakes, strawberry shortcakes, and chocolate-mousse crumb cakes or skip the sweets altogether and take home a baguette of freshly baked bread to use for a lengthy sandwich or edible baseball bat.

Sugar Baking Co. & Restaurant’s kitchen is always full of appealing ingredients: cage-free eggs, certified humane meats, real Vermont maple syrup, and fresh picks from the Roslindale Farmers’ Market. It’s also almost always open; diners flock to the eatery for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the morning, diners bite into lemon ricotta pancakes and French toast stuffed with brie, and at dinnertime, they feast on braised lamb shank and pan-seared salmon. They complement their meals with wines from New Zealand, Argentina, and France and craft beers from nearby breweries such as Ipswich and Smuttynose. While they enjoy their meals, they also delight in the smell of fresh bread from the on-site bakery, whose treats range from cannolis and éclairs to apple turnovers—regular apples you eat with your feet touching the ceiling.

Baker Adie Sprague, who made a splash as a participant on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, showcases her meticulous dessert designs at Treat Cupcake Bar. She crafts at least a dozen flavors every day, including seasonal goodies such as candy apple—an apple cake smothered with cinnamon frosting. Adie also whips up separate batches for gluten-free and vegan patrons, such as chocolate cake crowned with mint cookies ‘n' cream frosting.

Rather than hog all the decorating fun for itself, Treat invites guests to make their very own creations at its namesake bar. There, you’ll find four varieties of both cake and frosting, plus more than 20 other toppings, such as Pop Rocks and chocolate-covered pretzels. To refine your decorating skills, sign up for one of Treat’s holiday-themed classes and learn to make seasonal shapes such as turkeys for Thanksgiving and smashed calculators for National Do Long Division by Hand Day.

Confectioner Deana Martin and the sugar magicians at Wildflour conjure daily-baked desserts from local ingredients, a craft they demonstrate to knowledge-hungry students. Couples or solo apprentices explore the process of creating chocolate treats that run the confectionary gamut from truffle fillings to tempered chocolate to cocoa-dust fog. While dipping and decorating the luxurious spheres, daring digits can indulge an experimental curiosity by coating other sweet treats in chocolate, such as fruit or bags of sugar. Classes run Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and are limited to a maximum of 15 participants to prevent chocolate bunnies from being munched into extinction.