What to Order at Magnolia Bakery: Cupcakes, Banana Pudding & Desserts, Reviewed

With crisp edges and a chewy center, this chocolate chip cookie doesn’t disappoint. It’s a solid add-on for an on-the-go treat that isn’t too messy, but it’s not as memorable as Magnolia Bakery’s other treats. It’s more of a standard chocolate chipper; if you’re in the mood for a cookie that really wows, skip right to the top spot on this list. If you love the flavor of a chocolate chip cookie and prefer something doughier, head to number four.

(It's available to ship nationwide as part of a sampler pack, in case you want to compare it to the brownies and blondies, BTW.)

This chewy, dense brownie has a crackly top that’s totally reminiscent of childhood. There’s a homespun quality to it, with a cocoa flavor that veers more sugary than super-fudgy and decadent (even though it looks like the latter).

You can order it by the slice, but if you’re headed to a party, this cake is a real showstopper. I prefer its ratio of buttercream frosting-to-cake over the cupcakes, and the pastel sprinkles throughout radiate joy. While it’s a crowd pleaser—and available year-round—I’m perpetually on the lookout for the return of Magnolia Bakery’s s’mores cake. If you see it on the menu, order both. Trust.

The frosting literally takes the cake here. It has such a silky consistency and strong cocoa flavor that while the Carrie Cupcake is Sex and the City-famous, this variety truly deserves the spotlight. The cake is a bit dry, so the frosting provides just the right bit of contrast.

If you purposefully underbake your cookies, preferring a softer, almost gooey texture, skip the cookie section entirely and snag this bar. It has great caramelization and a fudginess that makes it almost cookie dough-like in the center, with generous chunks of chocolate throughout.

Even the citrus-dessert-averse loved the light, palate-cleansing flavor of these lemon bars. Magnolia Bakery offers a generous, larger-than-a-Post-It slab, featuring a moist-not-crumbly graham cracker crust and a confectioners sugar-dusted lemon topping that expertly balances sweet and tart flavors. Testers marveled at how refreshing it tasted, and what a nice contrast it is to the heavier desserts in the lineup.

She’s an icon for a reason! I’ve covered food for more than a decade, and I’ve never come across a banana pudding that’s lighter, fluffier or just plain better than Magnolia Bakery’s. The vanilla pudding is infused with whipped cream, giving it that cloud-like texture, and are layered with fresh banana slices and vanilla wafers, which turn thick and cakey as they absorb the pudding. I’ve tried at least half a dozen of the monthly flavors and variations, and they’re all incredible, but I keep coming back to the classic.

Admittedly, I came into this tasting biased—I didn’t expect anything to top Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding. And honestly, this treat edged out the pudding by a hair. Maybe half a hair. I only gave it the edge because it surprised me so much. The cookie is almost the size of my toddler’s head, and it’s so soft it starts to break apart if you try to hold it in one hand. The texture is chewy bordering on cakey, with a nice balance between banana and vanilla flavors, and a slight crunch from the crumbled vanilla wafers and white chocolate chips studded throughout it. Admittedly, it’s so much better than the version sold in grocery stores, simply due to its softness and flavor—there’s a freshness that can’t be beat. I kind of want to layer it with the banana pudding and turn it into an icebox cake, to be honest. (And thankfully, you can buy both in a sampler pack, so my dreams can come true, provided I put in a little assembly work.)