This little gem adjacent to Reeders Alley features weekly specials - gotta get there fast before they sell out! The flaky, buttery pastries were as addictive as they were messy. Our favorite was the ham and Swiss croissant. I will say, the cruffin was not a true muffin-croissant hybrid - it was just a croissant in the shape of the muffin. Delicious place! So glad we were able to grab a bunch of goodies! read more

Cotton-Top Pastries - Churro cruffins, cereal milk cruffins, feta dill biscuits, ham and Swiss croissants - Bakeries Near Me - Helena, Montana

It was a bit unexpected to find a bakery of this quality in Helena. Cotton-Top Pastries offers an array of eclectic pastries in a house at the front of Reeder's Alley. You will find items like croissants and cruffins in seasonal flavors here. Given the limited hours as they are only open on Friday and Saturday morning, I would recommend going early for the best selection. read more

Oh heck yes! Went in for a breakfast pastry as a tourist, came out with a bag of muffins, croissants, fruit pie bars and so on. Perfectly baked and a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. Ate out of the bag for a full day and skipped other meals read more

Cotton-Top Pastries - Oh, heck yes! Went in for a breakfast pastry as a tourist, came out with a bag of muffins, croissants, fruit pie bars and so on. - Bakeries Near Me - Helena, Montana

I had heard that Cotton Top was a great bakery. I live in Bozeman and you have to be quick on the draw for this place. I had been to Helena 4 times oer the last three years trying to taste one of the tasty morsels that comes out of this bakery. They were sold out or not open. I finally got there with my sister yesterday. I thought there was no way CT cold meet my hyped up expectations. Holly and her mom delivered in spades. They could not have been nicer and the baked goods could not have been tastier. I'm a cookie-aholic and did a cookie off between CT, Vanilla Bean, Park Ave and Nosh. CT won hands down. Run, don't walk!! read more

Cotton-Top Pastries - It was worth the wait!! - Bakeries Near Me - Helena, Montana

This place is amazing. I can't eat gluten, but you bet I will stand in line for 20 minutes before they open in -10 degree weather. It's my husband's favorite bakery ever, and even I can tell how high quality the goodies are just by frantically huffing the bag before he eats the treasures. Butter, flawless technique, and love. All present in every item. Love the rotating menu you can see online before you head down--plan your purchase. The fact that the best baked goods are made in a precious, historical cabin makes the experience absolutely perfect. read more

Such a lovely bakery tucked into Reeder's Alley. I've waited since June to try CTP & I finally got to try their delectable pastries! Luckily I went super early in the AM on a Friday & there was no line. We tried: -Glazed Donut Cruffin: the glaze was thin enough not to be overwhelmingly sweet. - Caramel Bun: this had a nice glaze at the bottom that was crispy & sweet. It tasted delightful when warm, & paired nicely with our coffee or choice, Black Rifle Coffee. -Pumpkin Crumble Muffin: very moist & not too sweet. -Cauldron Cake: I wasn't a huge fan of this. The frosting was decent but the cake batter likely used a darker cocoa & it came out tasting too bitter. The sweet frosting wasn't enough to balance the bitterness of the batter. -Chive Biscuit: This was ok. Something you have to eat right away. It got very hard by the end of the day. I did heat it up & it seemed buttery on the inside which was nice. -Ham & Cheese Croissant: my favorite breakfast pastry. Croissant was light, flaky & the ham was delicate. They even heat it up upon request. Holly is truly a talented baker & eating her creations feels like a blessing. She puts a lot of creativity, focus, energy & love into what she bakes. Every pastry was baked to perfection using seasonal & locally sourced ingredients. Prices are very reasonable. My only negative feedback would be that there wasn't a lot of care put into packaging my order. Our items were thrown into a bag & I would have preferred that they were placed nicely into a box. The early bird gets the worm, so if you want a taste of these special treats, you'll need to show up early. The storefront is small but quaint so don't be put off if you have to wait outside. Cotton Top Pastries will be SO worth the wait! read more

Walked to here on a Saturday morning at 9 am and no line. I tried the ham and cheese croissant. The strawberry on jam and cheese, sitting on top of flakey croissant style. An amazing canelé de bordeaux that everyone behind me said to try and it was fabulous. Walked to the farmers market which didn't have much produce. Lots of arts and crafts. We did get a dozen eggs and a bag of spinach for $3.50 each...and a variety of meat (pork chops, tenderloin and lamb chops) Then we drove to Whitefish. read more

My favorite Helena bakery! High quality ingredients, unique offerings, not too sweet. Great quiche too- way better than Vanilla Bean!!

Once again, never disappointed...Cotton Top is far and away the best bakery I've been to in Montana, maybe in the West. I have traveled all over the US and Europe and have had some great pastries, I'll put CTP against any of them. I typically go the savory route, biscuit or Ham and cheese croissant..or both, but also love the sweet options too. Namely the salted caramel role. Helena, do your part, head to Cotton Top, wait in the line, it's well worth it. read more

So friendly and unique delicious pastries on a great street. Get there early because there's always a line.

Best pastries in the State? FOR SURE. Possibly in the United States. Everything I got was AMAZING! The Ham and Swiss Everything Croissant was the best thing I have ate in years. Highly recommend. read more

Cotton-Top Pastries - Ham and Swiss Everything Croissant - Bakeries Near Me - Helena, Montana

See all

Best pastries we have ever had. I'm not joking. Salted caramel roll. Ham and cheese flaky croissant. Wish we could have taken the whole place with us. What a treasure!!! You must go. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Cotton-Top Pastries and it's owner/baker, Holly. She crafted cookies for me to send out to my bridal party as "proposals" that were every bit as delicious as they were beautiful. She was incredibly willing to work with me on the design process, even going out of her way to order a specially shaped cookie cutter so that I could have exactly what I had envisioned. The cookies stayed fresh until they made their way to their destination, and the extras we had we enjoyable up until we finished them a week after delivery. We will definitely be using Cotton-Top Pastries again in the future, and stopping at her booth at Helena's farmers market! read more

Cotton-Top Pastries - Custom made "save the date/bridal party proposal" cookies. - Bakeries Near Me - Helena, Montana

Outstanding pastries. All of the sweets are delectable especially the Aztec chocolate brownies. The quiche have crusts that are to die for.

This place is astoundingly, jaw droppingly excellent. Some of the highest quality pastries I've had in the US, and really interesting unique local flavors and ingredients. Love love love this bakery!!! read more

You guys. This place makes the BEST pastries, pies, and treats not only in Helena, but they are easily the best I've ever had. I had Holly make multiple pies for my wedding three years ago and can't tell you how many people commented on them. They were perfection, and the unique flavor combinations she comes up with are heavenly. Now for the pastries. Oh my gosh. I don't know if I have adequate words to describe them. She makes both sweet as well as savory options that are incredible. You can not go wrong with anything from Cotton Top. She sells out consistently for good reason! read more

Very nice and elegantly made pastries. I'm more of a doughnut guy, but these hit the spot. Very cool spot. Oldest former residence in the City of Helena! The Huckleberry Cruffin was good. If they just gave you a side of the huckleberry glaze, that stuff was amazing. read more

I've never gotten anything I didn't absolutely love from here!!! Unique flavor combinations that taste amazing! One problem I have is that there isn't a storefront and I have to wait for the farmers market every week read more

Such a wonderful addition to Helena. Quickly becoming my favorite go to for both sweet and savory treats.