My friend Chandra and I will travel for dessert. A few summers ago, we drove out to seemingly the middle of nowhere to Greensboro, Alabama, for a slice of chocolate pie with a thick layer of whipped cream from Pie Lab. Last summer, we ventured to Peach Park in Clanton, Alabama, to finally try the famous peach cobbler. Yesterday, we didn’t have to go far to try the baked goods from Baking Bandits at their pop-up shop.

With sweets like lemon creme tarts and dark chocolate orange shortbread, it was hard to choose. I devoured half of my brown butter snickerdoodle in the car on the way home, but somehow found the restraint to save my Nutella and dark chocolate chip cookie for later today. These guys don’t have a permanent storefront yet, but thankfully they’ll be at the Pepper Place Market in April. After the closing of one of my favorite Birmingham bakery, Mix, I’m hoping the Bandits can fill that void and I’m excited to see what they whip up next.