Yesterday, we checked out our the best bakeries in New York City for cakes, cookies, and more; this morning, it's all about the pastries. While you'll find croissants in just about any bakery, good croissants, tender and flaky and buttery, are much harder to find, as are almond croissants and pain au chocolat. But you'll find some excellent ones in these New York bakeries, along with tarts and caneles and palmiers and much more. More

There are all sorts of fantastic bakeries in New York where you can pick up pie for your Thanksgiving table. But many of them require advance orders for Thanksgiving—and sometimes that just doesn't happen. Sometimes, you just need a last minute pie. And luckily, these fine bakeries are here to help you out. More

A good croissant is hard to find. To turn a butter-based dough into a pastry that's simultaneously soft and flaky, shatter-crisp and mouth-meltingly tender, is a difficult thing indeed. Where is the best in New York City? We found out. More

[Photographs: Robyn Lee] Last Friday morning I walked to Desserts by Michael Allen from my apartment to get cookies for our most recent Chocolate Chip Cookie Championship taste test. Although the walk was probably less than 15 minutes, it... More

In the spirit of competition, we've introduced a wild-card round. We listened to your nominations, combed back through the comments, and drew up one last round. More