Coffee & Treats in Irving

It's 1999 and college students Leon and Tiffany bustle about in Leon’s apartment kitchen as the aroma of baking sugar and butter wafts from the oven. The cookies currently baking are some of a handful of orders made by fellow students, which the two founders of the newly devised Tiff's Treats will soon deliver to tide their colleagues over during long study sessions. This simple idea—baking and delivering scratch-made cookies to order—caught on quickly. Soon, Leon and Tiffany moved to a larger kitchen in the back of a local restaurant, then to a number of stand-alone locations throughout Texas.

Today, patrons can still order cookies to be delivered—and the freshly made dough is still thrown in the oven the minute an order is placed—but the menu has expanded delightfully. The cookie flavors now run the gamut from the classic chocolate chip to snickerdoodle, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin, while gooey, fudgy brownie squares pair with pints of Blue Bell ice cream in one of the most classic combinations since peanut butter and jelly sold out for a record deal. Guests opting to walk-in instead of order out can also indulge in a signature Tiffwich, which fits a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two warm chocolate chip cookies.

Owner Henderson Poleon handcrafts more than 24 flavors of frozen-custard ice cream at K's Frozen Island, garnishing them with toppings and mix-ins such as pineapple, Butterfinger, and caramel fudge. Italian ice, shaved ice, and a smattering of shakes and floats round out the creamery's dairy dishes. Gourmet grilled hoagies come straight off the kitchen's iron waffle-cone maker to remedy clinical cases of brain freeze. Build-your-own sandwiches sandwich the shop's selection of breads, proteins, cheeses, and veggies.

Jeri Kopecky baked her first cake with her mother in the kitchen of her family's home in Ennis, a city south of Dallas. Batter wasn't the only thing transformed by the heat of that oven, and after years of helping her mother decorate cakes for friends and neighbors, Jeri took it upon herself to make her passion her career. In 1998, she bought a cake shop, expanded its size to 4000 square feet, and leapt into business for herself. One short year later, her own daughter Kelli joined her in the baking business, and the pair now whip up multilayer bridal cakes and creative birthday cakes for their ever-growing neighborhood. Cake Carousel's ample kitchens also provide a venue for eager students to come and learn the decorating techniques that have twice been passed from mother to daughter. Basic classes teach everything from leveling batter to simple frosting-piping techniques, and students in advanced sessions sculpt complex sculptures out of fondant or learn the elements of design behind a cookie bouquet. Several instructors aid Jeri and Kelli in keeping their year-round calendar of classes running. Occasional guest and celebrity sugar artists—such as Lauren Kitchens, various Food Network chefs, or a peanut-flavored fondant sculpture of George Washington Carver—supplement the lineup with classes in their particular specialties. The candy and cookie store also offers supplies for cake, candy-making, and cookies such as gelatin, isomalt, fondant, and gum-paste.

For more than a quarter of a century, bakery owners Roza and Sam Volfson—also owners of In the Mix Bakery in Plano—have labored at the ovens, honing their craft in professional kitchens, culinary schools, and catering services until they perfected the techniques used to craft each of their mouthwatering personalized desserts. After emigrating from Russia in the early '80s, the couple brought with them years of training in European pastry craft, along with Roza's own original recipes for conjuring lavishly decorated, multitier wedding cakes and then patiently chiseling them down into lovely petits fours. Beyond crafting custom confections for the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and Bank of America, the duo has also won numerous accolades for their sugary treats, including a 2010 nomination for Best Bakery for Sweets by D Magazine and an award for Best Cinnamon Rolls in Dallas from the Dallas Observer in 2003.

For more than a quarter of a century, Roza and Sam Volfson—owners of both A&J Bakery and In the Mix Bakery—have labored at the ovens, honing their craft in professional kitchens, culinary schools, and catering services until they perfected the techniques used to craft each of their mouthwatering personalized desserts. After emigrating from Russia in the early '80s, the couple brought with them years of training in European pastry craft, along with Roza's own original recipes for conjuring lavishly decorated, multitier wedding cakes and then patiently chiseling them down into lovely petits fours. Beyond crafting custom confections for the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and Bank of America, the duo has also won numerous accolades for their sugary treats, including a 2010 nomination for Best Bakery for Sweets by D Magazine and an award for Best Cinnamon Rolls in Dallas from the Dallas Observer in 2003.

Colorful parcels fly out of Sweet Shoppe DFW's kitchen, each packed with freshly baked desserts. Within the kitchen, chefs dip fruits and truffles into pots of melted chocolate, and cupcakes, pies, and pastries rise in the oven. For weddings and special events, the bakers frost gourmet cakes in custom designs, such as a racecar for a child's birthday or an issue of Reader’s Digest for an adult’s birthday. Shoppers can order treats through an online system, which allows users to easily specify flavors, desired themes, and special instructions.