T Rex Cookie Company, Minneapolis

If a Tyrannosaurus Rex were to eat a cookie, no snack-size treat would do. At least, that seems to have been the thought of Tina Rexing. When she bowed out of the corporate world after 20 years to do what she loved, she began making cookies—big, 8-inch, half-pound cookies that balance crispiness with gooeyness and chewiness to form a treat that only a dinosaur could eat in a single bite. And according to critics and imaginary giant lizards, it's a formula that works: Timeout Magazine ranked her sea-salt caramel chocolate-chip cookie as the No. 1 Cookie in America. The cafe also serves house-made lunches, soups, and locally roasted coffee.