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Shortbread cookies from Batter Bakery

15 Festive Cookies in San Francisco

From gingersnaps and shortbread to speculoos and spritz, it’s high cookie season

by Becky Duffett Updated Nov 29, 2021, 1:26pm PST

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by Becky Duffett Updated Nov 29, 2021, 1:26pm PST

Batter Bakery

San Francisco has legendary sourdough and excellent croissants, but for everyday afternoon cravings, it’s wise to know where the best cookies are lurking around town. Sure, it’s possible to pick up a chocolate chip cookie in nearly any coffee shop, but there are only a few spots that treat the classic right and hand it over warm. A couple of dedicated cookie shops mean serious business, and focus on all cookies, all the time. Plus, a dozen other bakeries happen to have strong contenders, even if they’re tucked away in the back of a big case.

From old-school Italian bakeries and Mexican panaderias to new spots playing with crushed cookies and cereal, there’s a cookie out there for every palate. Here are the 15 places to find the most festive cookies in San Francisco.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; the latest data about the delta variant indicates that it may pose a low-to-moderate risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

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Stella Pastry & Cafe

What’s a cappuccino without a biscotti? A North Beach institution, this Italian-American bakery does sacripantina cake, tiramisu, and is big on biscotti. They set out full sheet trays stacked with baci, amoretti, Florentines, Lindsor hearts, and thumbprints, including cookies that are dipped in chocolate or stuffed with jam.

446 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Also featured in:

17 Decadent Cakes in San Francisco

Batter Bakery

Jen Musty is a hardworking baker putting out a high volume of classic American treats, including respectable chocolate chip cookies and what might be the fudgiest brownie in town. Her sweets are easy to spot at a small storefront on Pine Street just off Polk Street, a stand at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, and in various stores and coffee shops. And for the holidays, she has an online store filled with sugar cookies and gingerbread people, as well as decorating kits.

1517 Pine St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Shortbread cookies from Batter Bakery

b. patisserie

B. Patisserie is known best for its kouign amann, the sugar-crusted cake from Brittany. But do not neglect the rest of the very generous pastry case, which includes macarons, madeleines, diamant (shortbread), chocolate sable (chocolate shortbread), and more.

2821 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Cookies at B. Patisserie

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Jane The Bakery

The Jane cafes are known for coffee and salad, but when Amanda Michael opened the bakery in 2013, she doubled down on pastry. In addition to excellent sourdough and croissants, the cookies loom large. The selection often includes a blackout double chocolate, chewy molasses ginger, and if you’re into cereal mashups, there are options with corn flakes and Cap’n Crunch.

1881 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Cookies at Jane

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Miette Patisserie

Miette boasts lots of sweet and stylish treats. The macarons are denser and chewier than the traditional French meringues, and come flavored with everything from pistachio to rose. But the best cookies might just be the humble biscuits, which are exceedingly crunchy and flavorful, including a fiercely spicy gingersnap, dark chocolate wafer, and malty graham cracker. Locations have shifted during the pandemic, but as of publication time, the Hayes Valley shop and Ferry Building stall are both open.

449 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

Macarons at Miette

Also featured in:

17 Decadent Cakes in San Francisco

Hahdough

Baker Ha Do grew up in Berlin, and while she focuses on traditional German cakes and tortes for most of the year, she breaks out the big cookie guns for the month of December. That means vanillekipferl (powdered moons), spritzgebäck (hazelnut dipped in dark chocolate), spitzbuben (stuffed with jam), and more fun-to-pronounce treats. A bag of crisp and generously spiced cookies only costs $12.50, and don’t sleep on the mini stollen, either.

1221 Fell St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Hahdough Christmas cookies

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Arizmendi Bakery

Arizmendi, the bakery co-op with separately-operated locations in the Sunset, Mission, and the East Bay, might be better known for alternative grains, vegan options, and veggie pizza. But the cookies run thick, especially the cowgirl, which is richly textured with oats, chocolate, walnuts, and coconut. And this time of year, they’re also filling cookie tins with gingersnaps, muddy snowballs, and brittle, as well as offering buche de Noel, stollen, and even fruitcake.

1331 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

Cookies at Arizmendi

Also featured in:

Le Dix-Sept Pâtisserie

Le Dix Sept opening during the pandemic in the Mission, with a beautiful array of botanically inspired pastries. Pastry chef Michelle Hernandez trained in Paris before bouncing home to the Bay, and she’s known for buttercream cakes, brioche knots, and impeccable canelés. But she also makes beautiful sables, brownies, and bars, so keep an eye out for seasonal flavors, including chai tea sables.

3376 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Chai tea sable cookies from Le Dix Sept

Also featured in:

17 Decadent Cakes in San Francisco

Tartine Manufactory

Tartine may be known for iconic sourdough and orange-scented morning buns, but, of course, its cookies and brownies are of equally high quality. The oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate and walnuts are thin and lacy, and the chocolate chunk cookies get more dimension from earthy buckwheat flour and a sprinkle of sea salt. During the holidays, they also often offer bags of coconut macaroons and gingerbread tiles.

595 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Cookies at Tartine

Also featured in:

Dandelion Chocolate

San Francisco’s modern chocolate factory doesn’t just craft single-origin bars, it also chops them up into sweet treats. In the cookie category, an excellent chocolate chip was obviously expected, but the brownie bite flight is a transcendent experience. Not to mention the s’mores with house-made graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, torched to order. The big factory location on 16th Street is still closed, but the original Valencia location and Ferry Building kiosk are open and covering hot chocolate and cookie cravings.

740 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Holiday cookies from Dandelion

Also featured in:

Sunday Social

The Sunday Family of restaurants is digging into French pastries with Asian American flavors, starting with Sunday Bakeshop opening in Oakland in spring 2021, followed by Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous rebranding as Sunday Social in the Dogpatch in summer 2021, and both have good cookies. Pastry Chef Elaine Lau has several big drop cookies on the menu, and flavors rotate through Ube Snickerdoodle, White Rabbit Matcha inspired by the favorite candy, and a Dim Sum Cookie flavored with red bean paste and toasted sesame seeds. Stroll in to see what’s available that day, or order a pack of four in advance, if you must try every flavor.

Open in Google Maps

699 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Dim sum cookie at Sunday Social

Devil's Teeth Baking Company

Most people venture to the foggy Outer Sunset in search of Devil’s Teeth bigger-than-your-face egg sandwiches on buttery biscuits. But the bakery also cranks out at least a half dozen cookies, brownies, and bars. The shark cookies are cute for small children and surfers, and the ginger cookies are big, chewy, and spicy.

3876 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

Cookies at Devil’s Teeth

Also featured in:

Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

In addition to bagels and babka, the Bay’s leading Jewish deli also makes rugelach, the rolled and sliced cookies. Cream cheese is the tenderizer in the crumbly dough, and a sprinkle of coarse sugar adds crunch on top. Choose from dark chocolate, apricot jam, and spiced walnut fillings, but they’re really so small, a grandmother would press you to take all three.

3150 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Rugelach at Wise Sons

Also featured in:

La Mejor Bakery

It’s always Christmas at La Mejor Bakery, the old-school Mexican panaderia boxed in at 24th and Mission, right on top of the BART Station. Behind the decorated windows, there are racks on racks of sugar cookies, conchas, and pan dulce. Bring cash and load up on crumbly butter cookies.

3329 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Anthony's Cookies

A self-described people pleaser, Anthony Lucas started handing cookies out to friends when he was an accounting and engineering student at SF State. Baking at Valencia and 25th for more than a decade now, he’s the Mission’s go-to cookie monger. The favorite remains the cookies-and-cream cookie, which, yes, is a cookie mashed up within a cookie. The toffee chip and German chocolate come in close behind, and the cinnamon spice and chocolate-dipped shortbread star this time of year.

1417 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

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Stella Pastry & Cafe

446 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

What’s a cappuccino without a biscotti? A North Beach institution, this Italian-American bakery does sacripantina cake, tiramisu, and is big on biscotti. They set out full sheet trays stacked with baci, amoretti, Florentines, Lindsor hearts, and thumbprints, including cookies that are dipped in chocolate or stuffed with jam.

446 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Batter Bakery

1517 Pine St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Jen Musty is a hardworking baker putting out a high volume of classic American treats, including respectable chocolate chip cookies and what might be the fudgiest brownie in town. Her sweets are easy to spot at a small storefront on Pine Street just off Polk Street, a stand at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, and in various stores and coffee shops. And for the holidays, she has an online store filled with sugar cookies and gingerbread people, as well as decorating kits.

1517 Pine St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

Shortbread cookies from Batter Bakery

b. patisserie

2821 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115

B. Patisserie is known best for its kouign amann, the sugar-crusted cake from Brittany. But do not neglect the rest of the very generous pastry case, which includes macarons, madeleines, diamant (shortbread), chocolate sable (chocolate shortbread), and more.

2821 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Cookies at B. Patisserie

Jane The Bakery

1881 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115

The Jane cafes are known for coffee and salad, but when Amanda Michael opened the bakery in 2013, she doubled down on pastry. In addition to excellent sourdough and croissants, the cookies loom large. The selection often includes a blackout double chocolate, chewy molasses ginger, and if you’re into cereal mashups, there are options with corn flakes and Cap’n Crunch.

1881 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115

Visit Website

Cookies at Jane

Miette Patisserie

449 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Miette boasts lots of sweet and stylish treats. The macarons are denser and chewier than the traditional French meringues, and come flavored with everything from pistachio to rose. But the best cookies might just be the humble biscuits, which are exceedingly crunchy and flavorful, including a fiercely spicy gingersnap, dark chocolate wafer, and malty graham cracker. Locations have shifted during the pandemic, but as of publication time, the Hayes Valley shop and Ferry Building stall are both open.

449 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

Macarons at Miette

Hahdough

1221 Fell St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Baker Ha Do grew up in Berlin, and while she focuses on traditional German cakes and tortes for most of the year, she breaks out the big cookie guns for the month of December. That means vanillekipferl (powdered moons), spritzgebäck (hazelnut dipped in dark chocolate), spitzbuben (stuffed with jam), and more fun-to-pronounce treats. A bag of crisp and generously spiced cookies only costs $12.50, and don’t sleep on the mini stollen, either.

1221 Fell St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Hahdough Christmas cookies

Arizmendi Bakery

1331 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122

Arizmendi, the bakery co-op with separately-operated locations in the Sunset, Mission, and the East Bay, might be better known for alternative grains, vegan options, and veggie pizza. But the cookies run thick, especially the cowgirl, which is richly textured with oats, chocolate, walnuts, and coconut. And this time of year, they’re also filling cookie tins with gingersnaps, muddy snowballs, and brittle, as well as offering buche de Noel, stollen, and even fruitcake.

1331 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

Cookies at Arizmendi

Le Dix-Sept Pâtisserie

3376 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Le Dix Sept opening during the pandemic in the Mission, with a beautiful array of botanically inspired pastries. Pastry chef Michelle Hernandez trained in Paris before bouncing home to the Bay, and she’s known for buttercream cakes, brioche knots, and impeccable canelés. But she also makes beautiful sables, brownies, and bars, so keep an eye out for seasonal flavors, including chai tea sables.

3376 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Chai tea sable cookies from Le Dix Sept

Tartine Manufactory

595 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Tartine may be known for iconic sourdough and orange-scented morning buns, but, of course, its cookies and brownies are of equally high quality. The oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate and walnuts are thin and lacy, and the chocolate chunk cookies get more dimension from earthy buckwheat flour and a sprinkle of sea salt. During the holidays, they also often offer bags of coconut macaroons and gingerbread tiles.

595 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Cookies at Tartine

Dandelion Chocolate

740 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

San Francisco’s modern chocolate factory doesn’t just craft single-origin bars, it also chops them up into sweet treats. In the cookie category, an excellent chocolate chip was obviously expected, but the brownie bite flight is a transcendent experience. Not to mention the s’mores with house-made graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, torched to order. The big factory location on 16th Street is still closed, but the original Valencia location and Ferry Building kiosk are open and covering hot chocolate and cookie cravings.

740 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Holiday cookies from Dandelion

Sunday Social

699 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

The Sunday Family of restaurants is digging into French pastries with Asian American flavors, starting with Sunday Bakeshop opening in Oakland in spring 2021, followed by Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous rebranding as Sunday Social in the Dogpatch in summer 2021, and both have good cookies. Pastry Chef Elaine Lau has several big drop cookies on the menu, and flavors rotate through Ube Snickerdoodle, White Rabbit Matcha inspired by the favorite candy, and a Dim Sum Cookie flavored with red bean paste and toasted sesame seeds. Stroll in to see what’s available that day, or order a pack of four in advance, if you must try every flavor.

Open in Google Maps

699 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Dim sum cookie at Sunday Social

Devil's Teeth Baking Company

3876 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Most people venture to the foggy Outer Sunset in search of Devil’s Teeth bigger-than-your-face egg sandwiches on buttery biscuits. But the bakery also cranks out at least a half dozen cookies, brownies, and bars. The shark cookies are cute for small children and surfers, and the ginger cookies are big, chewy, and spicy.

3876 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

Cookies at Devil’s Teeth

Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

3150 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

In addition to bagels and babka, the Bay’s leading Jewish deli also makes rugelach, the rolled and sliced cookies. Cream cheese is the tenderizer in the crumbly dough, and a sprinkle of coarse sugar adds crunch on top. Choose from dark chocolate, apricot jam, and spiced walnut fillings, but they’re really so small, a grandmother would press you to take all three.

3150 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Rugelach at Wise Sons

La Mejor Bakery

3329 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

It’s always Christmas at La Mejor Bakery, the old-school Mexican panaderia boxed in at 24th and Mission, right on top of the BART Station. Behind the decorated windows, there are racks on racks of sugar cookies, conchas, and pan dulce. Bring cash and load up on crumbly butter cookies.

3329 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Anthony's Cookies

1417 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

A self-described people pleaser, Anthony Lucas started handing cookies out to friends when he was an accounting and engineering student at SF State. Baking at Valencia and 25th for more than a decade now, he’s the Mission’s go-to cookie monger. The favorite remains the cookies-and-cream cookie, which, yes, is a cookie mashed up within a cookie. The toffee chip and German chocolate come in close behind, and the cinnamon spice and chocolate-dipped shortbread star this time of year.

1417 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

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