Best Cookies in NYC: 11 Bakeries to Try in 2026
The best cookies in NYC start with a six-ounce, scone-thick chocolate chip walnut at Levain and run all the way to a fondant-iced black and white at William Greenberg that Seinfeld made famous. This is the cookie city: Veniero’s has been layering rainbow cookies in the East Village since 1894, Maman’s nutty chocolate chip landed on Oprah’s list, and Schmackary’s keeps the Theater District in 80-plus rotating flavors. Below are 11 bakeries worth the line, ranked by what we’d actually walk across town for — the gooey chocolate chip monsters, the cakey black and whites, and the almond-paste rainbow cookies that are pure New York. Warm them up first. Every one of these is a few bucks, cash-and-go, no reservation required.
11 bakeries across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens · Most cookies run $3–$6 each · Open daytime; a few (Schmackary’s) go late · Standout pick: Levain’s chocolate chip walnut — the one that started the whole oversized-cookie thing.
The Best Cookies in NYC
Levain Bakery
The oversized cookie icon · 167 W 74th St (UWS)
The cookie that built the genre. Levain’s chocolate chip walnut is a six-ounce, half-baked-in-the-best-way puck — crisp shell, molten center, the size of your fist. It runs around $5 and it’s enough to split. The dark chocolate peanut butter chip is the move if you don’t do nuts. The original is the basement shop on West 74th, but you’ll find them on the UES, in Harlem, NoHo, and Williamsburg too, open all day, every day.
Maman
Oprah’s favorite, with good reason · SoHo + multiple locations
Maman’s Nutty Chocolate Chip is the rare hyped cookie that earns it — almonds, macadamias, and walnuts folded into a chewy, caramelized-edge dough with a hit of sea salt, less sweet than you’d expect. Oprah put it on her Favorite Things list back in 2017 and the line never really stopped. The French café started in SoHo in 2014 and now has shops all over the city. A few dollars each, pulled warm if you’re lucky.
Chip City
Quarter-pound, weekly rotating flavors · UES (1543 2nd Ave) + multiple locations
Born in Astoria in 2017, Chip City now runs cookies across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan — including the West Village and Rockefeller Center. The cookies are quarter-pound, gooey-centered, and the flavor list rotates every week: PB&J that drips when you split it, Everything Bagel, Red Velvet with hot chocolate inside. The plain chocolate chip is the benchmark and they’ll warm it for you. Solid vegan option too.
Orwasher’s
The triple threat · 308 E 78th St (UES)
A 1916 bakery that quietly nails all three cookies on this page. The chocolate chip is studded with extra-large Valrhona discs — crunchy caramelized bottom, chewy middle. The black and white is a proper cakey classic, and the rainbow cookies are jam-and-marzipan done right. If you only have time for one stop on the Upper East Side, this is the efficient one. Also on the UWS and Long Island. Open daily, mornings through early evening.
Schmackary’s
The Official Cookie of Broadway · 362 W 45th St (Theater District)
The flagship sits in the heart of the Theater District and runs 80-plus rotating flavors — more than anywhere else in the city. Funfetti, Maple Bacon, Sch’mores, plus a salted classic chocolate chip that holds its own. Cast members and post-show crowds pack it because it stays open late, till around 11pm most nights. A few dollars a cookie, soft and frosted. There’s a Cooper Square location too. Worth a detour through Hell’s Kitchen.
William Greenberg Desserts
NYC’s #1 black and white · 1100 Madison Ave (UES)
The black and white cookie benchmark, full stop. Greenberg’s has been on Madison Avenue since 1946, and its version is cakey and soft with a signature fondant icing — the one Ina Garten and O Magazine both crowned. Get it classic or in red velvet. There’s a UWS location on Amsterdam too. This is the cookie people mail to homesick New Yorkers, and the one Seinfeld put on the map. Buy a box of minis.
Veniero’s
The rainbow cookie benchmark · 342 E 11th St (East Village)
An East Village pasticceria since 1894 and the name most New Yorkers reach for on rainbow cookies. The layers are almond sponge bound with raspberry jam and sealed in a four-sided chocolate coating — the most decadent version of the bunch. While you’re there, the cheesecake and cannoli have their own die-hard following. Sit in the old café room or grab a box to go.
Ferrara Bakery
Little Italy since 1892 · 195 Grand St (Little Italy)
The oldest Italian pasticceria in the country, fifth-generation family-run, and a tricolore institution. Ferrara’s rainbow cookies use apricot jam instead of raspberry, with the chocolate kept classically to the top and bottom — precise, even layers, baked in small batches throughout the day. Touristy block, real cookie. Grab a cannoli for the walk.
Zaro’s Family Bakery
The commuter’s black and white · Penn Station + Grand Central
The cookie you grab on the way to the train. Zaro’s lives inside Penn Station and Grand Central, and its black and white is the cakey, fondant-frosted classic — moist base, clean split of chocolate and vanilla. Not a destination on its own, but if you’re catching a train it’s the best baked good in the building by a mile. Open early, open late, built for the rush.
Milk Bar
The chaos-cookie originals · East Village + multiple locations
Christina Tosi’s spin-off from Momofuku, and the home of two cookies that don’t taste like anyone else’s. The Compost Cookie throws pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, and butterscotch into the dough; the Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow is exactly what it says and somehow works. Sweet, salty, a little unhinged. Locations around the city. Get one of each — they travel well.
Jacques Torres
Mr. Chocolate’s cookie · DUMBO + multiple locations
Jacques Torres built his name on chocolate, so the cookie leans hard into it — big disc-shaped feves of chocolate that melt into ribbons instead of chips, a thin chewy dough holding it all together. Different beast from the Levain-style monster cookie. The DUMBO original is the move if you’re in Brooklyn, but there are shops across Manhattan too.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in NYC
If you only care about the chocolate chip cookie, the short list is Levain, Maman, and Chip City — three completely different schools. Levain is the oversized, gooey-center monster (around $5, split it). Maman is the chewy, nutty, sea-salted French version Oprah made famous. Chip City is the quarter-pound, warm-and-rotating crowd-pleaser. For something more restrained, Orwasher’s bakes a buttery, Valrhona-studded classic that doesn’t try to reinvent anything, and Jacques Torres goes all-in on melted chocolate feves. Five spots, five takes — there’s no single best chocolate chip cookie in NYC, just the right one for what you’re after.
Best Black and White Cookies in NYC
The black and white cookie is New York’s hometown cookie — cakey base, half chocolate fondant, half vanilla, and the unofficial subject of one of the most quoted Seinfeld bits ever. For the best black and white cookies in NYC, William Greenberg on Madison Avenue is the consensus #1, soft and properly cakey since 1946. Orwasher’s runs a close classic version on the UES. And if you’re sprinting for a train, Zaro’s inside Penn Station and Grand Central is the best one you can grab in a transit hub. While you’re chasing NYC classics, our guide to the best bagels in NYC covers the other one.
Want the best cookie and drink deals in NYC in your inbox? The Happy Hour NYC newsletter goes out every week with the city’s best food and drink finds — where to eat, drink, and snack for less. Subscribe here — it’s free.
Best Rainbow Cookies in NYC
The rainbow cookie — tricolore, Italian, technically a layered almond cake masquerading as a cookie — is its own religion in this city. For the best rainbow cookies in NYC, Veniero’s in the East Village is the benchmark: raspberry jam, almond sponge, four-sided chocolate. Ferrara in Little Italy goes the traditional apricot-jam route, chocolate top and bottom, baked in small batches since 1892. Orwasher’s makes a strong UES version if you want all three cookie types under one roof. The rule with rainbow cookies: they should taste of almond paste first, jam second, and never be dry.
Best Cookies in NYC by Neighborhood
The cookie map across Manhattan is dense. The Upper West Side is Levain country (plus the original Orwasher’s sister shop). The Upper East Side stacks Greenberg, Orwasher’s, and a Chip City within blocks. Midtown and the Theater District belong to Schmackary’s. The East Village has Veniero’s and Milk Bar a few blocks apart, and Little Italy has Ferrara. Brooklyn’s anchor is Jacques Torres in DUMBO, with Chip City scattered across Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg. Wherever you are, a great cookie is usually within a few subway stops.
Best Cookies in NYC: FAQ
What is the best cookie in NYC?
It depends on the cookie. For chocolate chip, Levain’s walnut version is the most famous — six ounces, gooey center, around $5. For black and white, William Greenberg on Madison Avenue is the consensus pick. For rainbow, Veniero’s in the East Village. There’s no single best cookie in NYC, but those three win their categories.
Where can I get the best black and white cookie in NYC?
William Greenberg Desserts on Madison Avenue (UES) makes the city’s most-awarded black and white — soft, cakey, fondant-iced, going since 1946. Orwasher’s bakes a strong classic version on the UES, and Zaro’s inside Penn Station and Grand Central is the best one to grab on a commute.
What’s the best rainbow cookie in NYC?
Veniero’s in the East Village is the rainbow cookie benchmark — almond sponge, raspberry jam, four-sided chocolate, made since 1894. Ferrara in Little Italy is the traditional alternative, using apricot jam. Both are Italian institutions and both ship well if you want to bring a box home.
How much does a cookie cost in NYC?
Most bakery cookies on this list run $3–$6 each. The oversized ones — Levain, Chip City — sit at the higher end (around $5–$6) but are big enough to split. Black and whites and rainbow cookies at Italian and classic bakeries usually land in the $3–$5 range. Prices change, so confirm at the counter.
Which NYC cookie shops are open late?
Schmackary’s in the Theater District is the reliable late option, open until around 11pm most nights to catch the post-show crowd. Most other bakeries on this list close in the early evening, so plan cookie runs for daytime unless you’re near 45th Street.
Last updated: June 2026. Deals, hours, and prices are subject to change. Confirm with the venue before visiting.
More NYC guides: Manhattan happy hours · Best bagels in NYC · Upper East Side happy hours · East Village happy hours · West Village happy hours · SoHo happy hours
Part of our roundup of the best desserts in NYC.
