10 Delicious Bakeries in the Hill Country

Traveling around the Texas Hill Country can be hard work. Shopping, listening to live music, and exploring the wine trail might leave you in search of food.

Whether you’re craving cookies, freshly baked bread, tasty cakes, or fruity tarts, the Hill Country has something for everyone. Next time you’re in the area, stop in at one of these local shops, and be sure to grab some goodies to go.

1. Naegelin’s Bakery – New Braunfels

Photo: Naegelin’s Bakery (Facebook)

Naegelin’s Bakery opened in 1868 and is the oldest, continuously operating bakery in the state of Texas. They still use recipes created by the Naegelin family after more than 100 years of experimenting with different measures and flavor profiles. This family-run shop offers cookies, pastries, cakes, pies, and kolaches, but it is famous for its strudels.

Stop in and try their turn-of-the-century apple strudel. It blends apples, cinnamon, coconut, and cherries in a puff pastry dough to create a truly unique flavor combination.

2. Sweetish Hill Bakery – Austin

Photo: Sweetish Hill Bakery (Facebook)

A long-time Austin staple, Sweetish Hill Bakery offers various baked goods, breads, & lunch items. The laid-back atmosphere and shaded outdoor seating make it a popular spot for both quick weekday lunches and relaxing weekend breakfast. Sweetish Hill opened over 35 years ago and is a go-to bakery for special occasion cakes, intricately decorated cookies, and festive cupcakes.

3. Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery – Austin

Photo: Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery (Facebook)

Quack’s started out as Captain Quackenbushes Intergalactic Dessert Company and Espresso Café, which was originally located on The Drag near the UT campus. It was the first coffeehouse in Austin, serving only espresso-based coffee drinks. Its current incarnation is located in Hyde Park and has the same easygoing atmosphere and hip coffeehouse feel.

They offer a variety of baked goods made from scratch, and they never use preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup or additives. They also offer vegan-friendly options.

4. Fredericksburg Pie Company – Fredericksburg

Photo: Fredericksburg Pie Company (Yelp)

Are you craving the kind of pie mom or grandma used to make? Look no further than Fredericksburg Pie Company. Nestled in the heart of the Hill Country, the Pie Company offers a relaxing, homey atmosphere. You can stay for a while and look at their collection of Texas quilts, vintage gifts, and cookbooks.

They are only open Thursday through Saturday, and they offer a wide selection of pies, including sugar-free pies. You can buy pie by the slice, half pies or full pies. Get there early for the best selection.

5. Bakery Lorraine – San Antonio

Photo: Bakery Lorraine (Facebook)

Two pastry chefs from Napa Valley opened Bakery Lorraine as a booth in the Quarry Farmers & Ranchers Market in 2011. They opened a proper shop in 2012 and moved to its current location in the Pearl Brewery Complex in late 2014. Their goal is to create artisan French pastries with fresh ingredients. Their French macarons are their most popular item, but their tarts and pies are always in demand.

Their new, larger location gave them the opportunity to expand their menu, and they now offer opera cakes, bagels, doughnuts, moonpies, and sandwiches.

6. La Panaderia – San Antonio

Photo: La Panaderia (Facebook)

Here’s another San Antonio bakery, which also started out at the Quarry Farmers & Ranchers Market. Brothers Jose and David Caceres began selling fresh baked bread at the market in late 2013 and moved to their current location a year later. The brothers have years of bread making experience, and David studied under the best American, French, Italian, and Mexican bread masters.

They feature lonches, cakes, fluffy conchas, flaky orejas or palmeritas, and almond croissants. Their main focus is a line of bread they call “bread cultura,” which is fermented for 48 or 72 hours to help break down complex sugars found in wheat.

7. Wimberley Pie Company – Wimberley

Photo: wimberleypie.com

Wimberley Pie Company is another Hill Country Staple. They offer homemade pies that bring to mind mom’s baking and holiday treats. The Toll House pie is a perennial favorite and sells out very quickly. It has huge chunks of chocolate and walnuts, which make it very rich in the best sense of the word. The apple pie is a must-have, and if you can find it, the rhubarb pie is pretty darn good too.

Next time you’re in Wimberley, check out this little pie shop. Get there early, or you’ll be left with very little to choose from.

8. Bear Moon Bakery & Café – Boerne

Photo: Bear Moon Bakery & Café (Facebook)

If you want a front row seat to see the happenings on Main Street in Boerne, stop by Bear Moon Bakery and Café. It’s always busy, especially on weekends, so get there early to grab a sidewalk table.

They offer an array of healthy muffins, German pastries, and sausage pigs in a blanket. They also have a wide variety of homemade cookies, mouthwatering cakes, and a selection of breakfast pastries. They are also open for lunch and have daily chalkboard specials.

9. Pennington’s Cakes – San Marcos

Photo: Pennington’s Cakes (Facebook)

Pennington’s Cakes opened in 1962 and features artful, delicious cakes. Like Sweetish Hill in Austin, Pennington’s is the go-to bakery for special occasion cakes. They bake their cakes fresh to order, using only fresh, quality ingredients.

If you’re not in the mood for cakes, Pennington’s also offers brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and other sweet treats.

10. Mad Batter Bakery – Johnson City

Photo: Mad Batter Bakery (Facebook)

Mad Batter is a new bakery, but its owners run two Johnson City restaurants, Lot 102 and 290 Diner. Owners Matt and Shelton felt there was a missing piece in the dining landscape of their beloved town. There wasn’t a proper bakery. With this in mind, they created a menu of donuts, kolaches, pies, scones, cookies and muffins. They also offer cupcakes baked to order and beautifully decorated for special occasions.

Their tasty treats are baked fresh every day. As with most popular bakeries on this list, get there early or lose out on the sweets.