Hidden Gems of Austin (Dessert Edition)

Nathlie Booth
6 min readFeb 5, 2021

The meaning of life is to seek out new experiences and discover new joys. To that end, I have a rule that every third restaurant I eat at must be someplace I have not tried before. This way I get to try new foods and support local restaurants in Austin. The restaurants on this list are places I love that may not be as hidden but could use some more press and attention, especially during the pandemic.

Frozen Rolls Creamery (Downtown Austin)

Photo: @eatingatx

Thai-styled rolled ice cream is one of the greatest inventions in modern times. Popularized as a street food in Thailand, this new form of ice cream quickly gained international attention. The ice cream is made right in front of you by pouring sweetened milk (or alternative milk) and flavorings on super-cold plates. The milk mixture is mashed, spread into a thin layer, and then rolled to create the iconic shape. This creates such a delicate and unique texture of ice cream. The rolls start out harder and icier than traditional ice cream but once it melts a little it takes on a completely new texture.

Frozen Rolls Creamery puts a strong emphasis on using natural flavors for colorings like matcha, ube (purple sweet potato), and coconut ash. Many of the ice creams come in vegan options and honestly sometimes I prefer the vegan to the dairy options. My personal favorite is the “Over the Rainbow” which is made with a delicious ube ice cream mixed with fruity pebbles. If you haven’t had it, ube is sweeter and more mellow than orange sweet potato with sometimes a nutty, vanilla taste. It creates a cereal and milk flavor in the Thai-styled ice cream, though I have to say ube is one of my favorite things.

Order ahead on the Frozen Rolls Creamery website or at the window.

Sno.Co Flattop Shaved Ice (East Austin)

Photo: @atxsnoco

What makes a good snow cone? I would say soft, feathery ice and syrup that doesn’t taste artificial; Sno.Co delivers on both with fine shaved ice and an enormous selection of syrups. All syrups at Sno.Co are made in-house with real fruits and vegetables, 100% natural cane sugar, and no high-fructose corn syrup. Marketed as “The softest sno in atx!” Sno.Co ice rivals the pillowy soft snow cones of Bahama Bucks.

But what sets Sno.Co apart from other snow cones vendors are their unique flavors like Koolickle (Kool-aide + pickle, trust me just try it), spicy grapefuit, and wedding cake. Adult cocktail inspired snow cones are also available by purchasing alcohol at the Butterfly Bar next door. And unlike Casey’s (no hate) there is never a line.

Sno.Co’s regular operating season is from March to October and the truck is located on Manor, right next to The Vortex. Bonus: all cones come in reusable cups that change color.

OMG Squee (East Austin)

Photo: @squeeclub

OMG Squee is a completely gluten-free bakery selling Asian-inspired treats such as jiggly Japanese cheesecake, soft serve, and boba. Owner Sarah combined her love of food, kawaii culture, and her Asian-American heritage to create gluten-free desserts that not only taste delicious but look great too! Everything is made in-house from the ice cream to the boba, they even mix their own blend of gluten-free flours to find the perfect combination of taste and texture.

I have probably eaten everything on their menu by this point, some could consider my obsession unhealthy but whatever. The taiyaki is amazing, both the savory and sweet options, but it truly shines as a cone for the soft serve! Taiyaki is a Japanese pastry that is shaped like a fish, it is crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and usually stuffed with various fillings.

Due to the pandemic OMG Squee is only doing curbside pickup and strongly encourages people to order ahead as they tend to run out. Curbside orders can be placed a head of time on their website. And if you’re looking for a gift that supports local small businesses, they even sell gift cards!

Blue Bonnet Cafe (Marble Falls)

Photo: Blue Bonnet Cafe

Although the Blue Bonnet Cafe isn’t technically in Austin, this place will always have a special place in my heart and deserves to be on this list. Though Marble Falls is about an hour outside of Austin, it is worth the drive and can make a lovely day trip. If you haven’t been out to the lakes west of Austin I highly recommend you go. Pace Bend is just one of the many state parks out in the Hill Country near Marble Falls. It’s a beautiful state park with cliffs and gorgeous views of the Colorado River. Go for the day and stop by Marble Falls for dinner and a slice of pie before you come back.

Blue Bonnet Cafe is famous for their pies, which come in 15 different flavors ranging from fruit pies to cream pies. The Cafe even sells a delicious no sugar added apple pie, which is my diabetic parents favorite cheat treat. The lemon cream pie is one of my favorites, the lemon curd is tart and refreshing while the cream is light and adds a nice balance. I could go on and on but suffice to say, I wouldn’t drive an hour away for just any pie.

Whole pies can be pre-ordered ahead through the Cafe’s website for only $16.79! They recommend customers order in advance in case they sell out of the flavor you want. The restaurant is currently offering limited indoor seating and curbside pick up.

Snow Ball Rice Ball (North Austin)

Photo: Community Impact

This placed used to be called Snowy Village Dessert Cafe but now goes by the name Snow Ball Rice Ball. If you knew this place as Snowy Village, know that nothing has changed. They sell bingsu, which is a Korean frozen milk dessert similar to shaved ice, taiyaki which is a Japanese pastry, and onigiri which are stuffed balls of rice. Bingsu is such a light and fluffy dessert, it has all the great taste of ice cream but doesn’t sit as heavy in your stomach.

My favorite flavor is the Oreo Bingsu, layers of shaved frozen milk layered with crushed Oreo cookies so that every bite is perfectly balanced. And don’t miss out on the onigiri either! I recommend the chicken katsu rice ball, fried chicken stuffed inside salted rice and wrapped with dried seaweed. These little handfuls of heaven are salty, hot and the perfect accompaniment to some sweet, cold bingsu.

Galleta (North Austin)

Photo: @thegalletashop

Galleta (pronounced GA-YE-TA) opened during the pandemic in 2020 and has quickly become my favorite source for cookies. The flavors for these delicious cookies are a combination of Mexican and Filipino cuisine. The owner says Galleta was inspired by all the women in their family as well as their roots and childhood.

My favorite cookie is Abuela’s Chocolate Chip cookie made with brown butter, Mexican vanilla, canela (cinnamon), 60.1% chocolate, and Maldon sea salt. This cookie literally revived the chocolate chip cookie for me! After a lifetime of the same, boring chocolate chip cookie I was blown away by the subtle complexity in Abuela’s Chocolate Chip cookie. It has a rich depth of flavor and a soft chewy texture that melts in your mouth.

Galleta has rotating cookie flavors and has recently started making other baked good such as pavlovas (meringue-based dessert) and bunuelos (fried sweet dough). Galleta does not currently have a storefront. All orders can be made through their Instagram (@thegalletashop), to place an order message them with your order and venmo @thegalletashop to confirm.

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Nathlie Booth

My name is Nathlie (think mathlete, but not) and I like to eat! One day I hope to travel again and post about it here. Until then follow me for food in Austin!