14 Starbucks Bakery Items, Ranked Worst To Best

There is something special about a Starbucks pastry. Not only does it go perfectly with a quick pick-me-up coffee, but it's an easy way to grab breakfast while ordering that morning cup of Joe. In my experience, Starbucks pastries have changed significantly over the years, and new options frequently arise with seasonal menus. If you venture into a Starbucks while traveling, you may even discover international Starbucks menus full of items we simply must have in the United States.

Based on the current selection at the time of writing, I set out to rank Starbucks' pastries and listed them from the ones better left in the glass case to the most delicious pastries that I would love to enjoy again and again. In general, all of the pastries tasted quite good, but I found the ones that were my least favorite had some kind of texture or moisture issue.

Unfortunately, there were a few items I couldn't get my hands on. For instance, the beloved Starbucks brownie wasn't available in my nearby locations.

There's something of a running joke in my family that I always intend to make banana nut bread but never actually get to it. Bananas go bad on my counter, going super mushy — and that window for banana nut bread opens, and then slams shut much faster than I could have imagined. Anytime I have successfully made banana nut bread from those nearly forgotten bananas, it's always exceptionally moist. I feel like banana nut bread's calling card as a breakfast bread is that it's moist and comforting. It's the perfect pairing with a slathering of butter and a few seconds in the microwave, so I expected something similar from Starbucks' banana nut bread. Unfortunately — though I had high expectations — the banana walnut and pecan bread let me down.

Rather than being moist like the banana nut bread I have come to know, this was exceptionally dry. It needed to be so much more moist for it to be enjoyable for more than a bite or two. Perhaps I got a piece of bread that was closer to its sell by day, but in any case, the texture of the bread was so far off, it landed way at the bottom of my list. However, the flavor wasn't bad — it tasted like a more traditional banana nut bread

When I worked at Starbucks, I was quite a fan of the blueberry pastries. The scones were my favorite, and the muffins weren't far behind. But since that time passed, those muffins have changed. One of the biggest ways those muffins are different from what I remember is the blueberry count. One of the best parts about a blueberry muffin is, of course, the berries ... and when those are lacking, so will the muffin.

This muffin had just enough blueberries in it to still be considered a blueberry muffin, but not enough when it's the best part of pastry. Though the texture was passable, more moisture would have improved it overall. Finally, we need to address the top. For something called a streusel muffin, there should be more of a streusel topping. For the sheer desire for there to be more, this muffin is near the bottom of my list.

My more recent experiences with butter croissants have been from Costco, and I must say, the croissants from Costco win the croissant race — even though some claim they taste different now. However, there are also redeeming qualities of Starbucks' croissant. For buttery flavor, smell, and texture within the croissant, Costco wins. But the Starbucks butter croissant had a crunchier bite. I found it to be a little more crunchy than I expected on the outside, though there was some flakiness to it. I would like to see more butter flavor.

That said, if you're craving a breakfast croissant, this one will do the trick, even if there are other bakery items at Starbucks that I enjoy far more. Sometimes, a croissant is exactly what you need, and there's no denying this is a somewhat okay croissant. It's true that for less than $10 you can get a huge box of croissants from Costco and enjoy them at your leisure — but no one goes to Starbucks expecting to get a deal.

Of course, the coffee cake doesn't actually have coffee in it, but the flavors here sure can make a delicious pairing with the coffees from Starbucks. That said, I think there are other breakfast pastries you would enjoy more than this coffee cake, as it largely comes down to moisture. Something I've noticed in this tasting is that while many of the Starbucks pastry items have good flavor, the texture makes or breaks the item. In this case, dry-mouthing a piece of the cinnamon coffee cake is going to have you more parched than if you were crossing the Sahara without your trusty water bottle.

The flavor is expectedly cinnamon in nature, and tastes similar to a vanilla and cinnamon cake. However, the actual texture is crumbly. In fact, there's so little moisture here, it's a little surprising the cake sticks together at all — it looked like it should crumble into a heap. Therefore, if you want to add this to your Starbucks order, definitely be sure you have a beverage, preferably one that is iced. You'll want to drink quite a lot of it — and if it's too hot, you'll regret the inability to drink it quickly enough. Honestly, the coffee may complement it in flavor, but water is going to help you more with the texture of this pastry.

One of the interesting parts about this bakery item tasting is that several of the options were very difficult to find. In fact, in the days leading up to my sampling, this ham and Swiss croissant was sold out at every store nearby. Therefore, I expected it to be pretty good, and although I rank it somewhere near the middle of my overall tasting, I was still impressed by the flavor.

The ham used for the croissant was smoked, and I'm super sensitive to smoky flavors, so I noticed this right away. The Swiss cheese was really only there to provide a small amount of moisture. The flavor didn't come through very well. Even at the moisture it provided, the croissant was lacking. Something like a béchamel sauce or more cheese would have helped this croissant — and although I enjoyed the flavor, there were some major tweaks that needed to be done to make it score higher on my list. While I did enjoy this more than a basic croissant, the texture surrounding the filling was further away from the type of croissant I like to enjoy, even if the ingredients helped buffer some of that loss.

My son is a connoisseur of cake pops, and judging by the daytime crowd at Target as we (parents) walk around sipping our iced coffees with our toddlers who have a cake pop in hand, he's far from the only one. Though he has tried all the cake pops, every now and again, he surprises me with the choices he goes back to. For this sampling, the first cake pop that he chose to try was the birthday cake flavor. Dressed all in pink with little white sprinkles on top, birthday cake feels like a poor name for this cake pop. "Pretty in pink" might be more fitting. 

As pink is my favorite color, I quite enjoy the look of this Starbucks treat, and it reminds me of vanilla cake. But it doesn't feel like a traditional birthday cake I might expect for a young child. Rather than having vanilla cake for its filling, I think a funFetti cake would do much better. Perhaps having a white-coated cake pop with multicolored sprinkles would make more sense for a birthday cake pop rather than relegating it to pink. Of the three cake pops I tried, this one was my least favorite, and it was largely because the flavor was too basic.

Perhaps the only reason my son chose to try the birthday cake pop first was because he didn't realize I had a cookies and cream cake pop on deck. Once he saw this gem, I barely got a small bite and a picture taken before he was chowing down.

Unlike the birthday cake pop, the cookies and cream variety is named well, and it clearly replicated a cookies and cream flavor. Within, it tasted like Oreo cookies and cream, and the outside had a super creamy flavor as well. The chocolate flavoring on top of the white coating was a nice indicator for the flavor inside, and there's a good reason this one is my son's favorite cake pop — it's special. Not to mention, it wasn't quite as messy as some of the other cake pops. When that white coating gets melty, it doesn't stain nearly as easily as, say, the chocolate one. 

My favorite of the cake pop lineup — the chocolate cake pop — is the messiest of all. If you happen to be ordering it for your little one, you'll definitely want to have some wipes on hand. In any case, there's no denying the flavor here was the absolute best among all of them.

This one tasted like a rich chocolate cake. However, it was more of a darker chocolate than you might expect, especially for a cake pop, which is often intended for younger palates. In any case, the chocolate was sweet enough that my son also adored it. I found the chocolate cake pop tasted like a rich chocolatey brownie cake, and I'll admit that finishing whatever he didn't get to wasn't a chore for me!

Like the banana nut bread, the pumpkin and pepita loaf suffered from a similar moisture problem. However, the pumpkin loaf flavor was outstanding. Not only that, but as soon as I opened the bag, the waft of fresh pumpkin baked goodness was undeniable.

If you love pumpkin-flavored items, I recommend taking some of this pumpkin loaf home and slathering butter on it. It'll provide just the right amount of moisture, and you'll have an ideal version of the pumpkin bread. On top, the pepita provided a nice crunch, but they didn't overpower the pumpkin loaf. It has a nice balance; everything works together. And as long as you can find it, the pumpkin and pepita loaf is a better purchase over the banana nut bread.

On the outside, this chocolate croissant didn't look like much. In fact, those chocolate pieces are barely visible. However, I found there were many more flavor pockets of chocolate within — it was the perfect mix of buttery croissant and rich chocolate.

Those who want an extra special croissant will enjoy this one. Those who like a more traditional croissant, however, might not find it as tasty. I tend to be in the mood for something a little more unique when I order from a bakery, so the chocolate croissant easily scratched that itch. I liked this as a pairing with any of Starbucks' chocolatey drinks, and if you're a regular iced mocha lover, this chocolate croissant will pair perfectly with your morning cuppa.

The cheese Danish suffered from a smooshed problem, but thankfully, this didn't affect any of the flavor. It's an enjoyable mix of pastry and a cream cheese-like filling. This was as close to a breakfast donut as Starbucks offers, and I loved it as a choice for those who might need to eat their breakfast treat on the road.

The dough itself tasted similar to what you get in the croissant, but it felt more firm with a slathering of cheese in the middle. With the ring around the outside, it's just small enough that I was able to bite past it and into the cheese, and the moisture level throughout was sufficient as well. For an ideal balance of texture, sweetness, and portability, this was a great bite.

Of all the baked goods I tried, the one that most surprised me was the apple croissant. In concept, this is possibly the most perfect of all pastries. It's a croissant with apple goodness inside. I love apple-flavored things, and I've become a more recent fan of croissants, so it seemed like a perfect match. However, when I pulled it out of its pastry bag, I was immediately disappointed. Not only did it look very small, but it looked squished, and so I didn't have very high hopes.

While the texture of this one was a little closer to a donut and further from a croissant than I would've liked, the mix of the buttery flavor from the croissant with an apple pie-type filling was absolutely delicious. It was perfectly sweet with that comforting buttery flavor. In fact, my only complaint? It was too small. Even in its smooshed form, it was still one of my favorites. So good!

Starbucks' iced lemon loaf has long been a favorite pastry in my family. Between the slightly tart taste of the cake and the tangy flavor of that icing, it's hard to resist. Where other loaf offerings suffered from the moisture issue, I've never had a piece of dry lemon loaf.

Unlike other breakfast pastries from Starbucks bakery that seem to go well with a range of offerings, I have found that you want to be choosy with how you pair the iced lemon loaf. I love this one with the teas, lemonades, and refreshers from Starbucks, but it doesn't go as great with something like a cinnamon dolce latte, for instance. Leave your chocolate drinks for that chocolate croissant. Iced lemon loaf, on the other hand, is what you order on a hot summer day, with the windows down, paired with your favorite refresher, like a boba tea off the summer menu.

My favorite of any Starbucks bakery item was the chocolate chip cookie. Warmed and big, it was the perfect combination of nostalgic and delicious. The chocolate chips are gooey, and the chocolate taste was ideal for a chocolate chip cookie. Instead of tasting like it's been packaged and held somewhere for a long time, it also tasted super homemade, an absolute necessity for chocolate chip cookies.

Possibly the best part about the chocolate chip cookie is that it's sure to win over anyone looking for a Starbucks treat, no matter the age. The only time it might not be ideal is for that morning breakfast, but if you want to eat one of these cookies with your morning cinnamon dolce latte, I wouldn't blame you.

To decide which Starbucks pastries were my favorites, I gathered all pastries available to me at my local locations. From there, I tasted and assessed each one. 

I paid close attention to flavor and texture. Moisture often played a role in the texture, but not always. The very best of the treats had a taste I would love to return to with a texture that complemented the individual pastry well.