Cookies, cakes and belly aches for the winter holidays.
Off The Strip is celebrating the holiday season with a 30-days of stories counting down to the big day Dec. 25! Our #WYD Holiday Guide features all the best places to go, experiences to have, festive displays, party destinations, holiday cocktails and dinners—plus where to shop local and cool ways to give back! Check out the features »
‘Tis the season for sugar, spice and everything nice. The winter holidays are synonymous with sweet delicious treats and this year is no exception. Explore the top destinations for desserts in Las Vegas this winter.
Founders Coffee
The holiday season brings endless opportunities to snap a photo with Santa, but if you can only pick one, head to Founders Coffee. The St. Rose Parkway location is hosting Coffee & Cocoa with Santa on Friday, Dec. 10 5-7pm. Sip on coffee and hot chocolate while taking a few pics with the Jolly One and nibbling on mini bites, pastries and cookies. Tickets are just $40 per person and available online.
Ethel M
The Henderson chocolate factory has a delicious lineup of holiday gift sets for the holiday season. While many are available at shops and pop-ups around the valley, your best bet is venturing to the Ethel M Holiday Cactus Garden, where you can not only walk among three acres of lights and decorations, but pick up a few treats at the actual production facility. Gift sets are also available for purchase online, but act fast. Supplies are limited due to demand and the current labor shortage.
Carlo’s Bakery
Buddy Valastro’s Las Vegas bakery is known as a top destination for brownies, cupcakes and cannolis at the Grand Canal Shoppes with a few holiday treats to share. Ask about the latest pies, cookies and other seasonal indulgences. The best creation at Carlo’s Bakery is the PieCaken, which combines sweet treats of pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and an apple upside-down cake into one incredible layered dessert with cinnamon buttercream for a surprisingly reasonable price of $39.95.
The LINQ Promenade
The holiday spirit is strong at The LINQ, where the promenade is lined with festive decorations, a Christmas tree by the fountain and the High Roller observation wheel illuminated in red and green for Christmas. Browse the shops for sweet holiday treats like a candy cane cheesecake at Favorite Bistro, limited-edition drink specials (peppermint hot cocoa, salted caramel hot cocoa and classic hot cocoa) at Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop, a selection of seasonal shortbread cookies (peppermint macadamia, dark chocolate peppermint macadamia, white chocolate ginger spice and white chocolate pumpkin) at Honolulu Cookie Company and indulgent drinks (peppermint latte, peppermint mocha, gingerbread latte with toasted marshmallow) and gelato specials (mint chocolate chip with ruby chocolate sauce) at Sweet Sin by Claude Escamilla.
Mariah’s Cookies
Mariah Carey has the biggest holiday song of the modern era with “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” but she also has some incredibly decadent cookies, available in Las Vegas as a “ghost kitchen” by delivery only. Mariah’s Cookies has a few recipes worthy of the winter season like gingerbread, cinnamon sugar, chocolate raspberry truffle, spiced oatmeal raisin and white chocolate cranberry. If you need a last-minute gift, these cookies could be the best thing to keep you off somebody’s naughty list.
Aria
The Aria hotel lobby is once again transformed into a winter wonderland for 2021. The annual display returns with more than 150 lbs of fondant, 600 lbs of sugar and 550 pounds of chocolate, highlighted by a life-size gingerbread man and eye-catching doughnut tower, all courtesy of the Aria patisserie team. Check out the spectacle and pick up a few gifts from the French-style bakery.
