PROVO — If you are looking to go out to dessert and want to try something new this weekend, here's a compilation of small dessert shops in Orem and Provo that provide unique, sweet experiences.

These shops serve up homemade, one-of-a-kind desserts as only small businesses can.

The Vanilla Bean, 1661 N. State St., Orem

The Vanilla Bean dessert shop opened in Orem just over three months ago. The owner, Michelle Gilbert, explained that she and her husband have been entrepreneurs their whole lives.

“I’ve always liked to bake, and once my kids left the house I’ve had a lot of time. For the last few years, I’ve always said I’m going to do it,” Gilbert said.

The Vanilla Bean’s most popular item is not vanilla flavored at all — rather, it is a big cup of frozen hot chocolate named the Chocolate Storm. Gilbert said that even in the winter, customers will go through several large batches of the cold beverage a day.

“My kids, when they were little, loved frozen hot chocolate. They would want me to take hot chocolate I made and blend it with ice. When we were getting (The Vanilla Bean) together, my kids said, ‘Mom, you’d better do frozen hot chocolate,’ ” Gilbert said, regarding her inspiration for her most successful menu item.

Nowadays, Gilbert does not use ice in her Chocolate Storm recipe to avoid watering it down, but rather many rich ingredients blended together, including three different types of chocolate.

Other dessert options include plates of baked desserts served warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The front case by the register offers cookies ranging from classic chocolate chip to oatmeal toffee to Twix.

The Chocolate, 212 S. State St., Orem

The Chocolate is a well-known shop on State Street offering a range of baked goods. Popular choices from customers include old style cakes sold by the slice and fun-flavored cookies.

“I love the chocolate chip and peanut butter Cazookie,” said McKenna Watts, a frequent customer. “It’s delicious. I love it.”

By far, the most commonly bought menu item at The Chocolate is the Cazookie — a buttery skillet cookie topped with ice cream and served hot. This dessert usually has quite a long wait time, as the cookie is not cooked until the time the customer orders it, and the oven is usually backed up with a long line of Cazookie orders. But many customers determine that the dessert is worth the wait.

“I think the main reason I come here is the environment is absolutely adorable,” Watts said.

Indeed, the setup of the chocolate is unique. Set up in an old-style house, the shop feels homey — almost with a bed and breakfast atmosphere — with couches and armchairs available to cozy into while enjoying your dessert.

Provo Bakery, 190 E. 100 North, Provo

This bakery is a classic Provo small business providing a wide range of pastries.

“We’ve been family run for a really long time. We provide an experience with our customer service. One of out mottos is to treat customers like family,” said the shop manager, Skye Wallace. “We started 60 years ago at this location, but have been around before that as well.”

Skye explained that they sell more of their honey bran muffins than anything else. These sweet treats are bran muffins soaked in honey and brown sugar. People like them because they appear to be healthy with the bran, but they taste really good because of the sweetness, Skye said.

Another very popular item at the Provo Bakery is their donuts. From rolls the size of your head to seasonal flavors to personalized letter donuts, the bakery has a range to offer. A customer favorite is the maple bars. These donuts are topped with a thick spread of maple buttercream rather than the typical thin layer of icing.

Roll With It Creamery, 63 E. Center St., Provo

Rolled ice cream, the recent dessert trend from many different parts of the world, is available to Utah Valley at Roll With It Creamery in Provo.

The concept of rolled ice cream begins with a liquid base, and at Roll With It, the options are simply chocolate or vanilla, which is then poured onto a freezing round metal pan. The worker then decorates the melted cream with your chosen toppings and spreads it out into a large thin layer to allow it to quickly freeze. Some workers might even write the customer’s name in chocolate sauce upside down for the watching customer to see.

Once the concoction is fully frozen, the worker then uses a chisel to scrape thin rows of ice cream into rolled up swirls.

This new ice cream-making concept makes for a fun experience to watch while waiting for your dessert to be made.

“My favorite ice cream place to date. I am lactose intolerant so to persuade me to eat ice cream, it has to be overwhelmingly enticing and this place does the job,” said Nicole, a Creamery customer. She explained that just watching the workers create the ice cream is an entertaining show. “The end result is a unique and beautiful piece of food art.”

Because of its popularity, you might find yourself waiting in a line that stretches outside the building.

Roll Up Crepes,1605 S. State St., Orem

This Americanized crepe shop is a popular late night spot to get dessert as it’s open until midnight and 1 a.m.

The sweet crepes are named fun romantic names such as the caramelized banana "Awkward First Date" or the classic Nutella strawberry "Summer Fling" crepe. In addition to sweet crepes, the shop offers other desserts, including their highly popular Nutella milkshake and hot chocolate in a variety of flavors.

“Their crepes are delicious beyond belief. I've been coming here for a year and am still impressed,” said Jory, a crepe customer. “My fiancé brings me here for casual dates. The service is impeccable, the ambiance is romantic and cute, the food is divine and even the music is perfect for this quaint little retreat.”

The shop’s atmosphere is fun and unique, with a large painted tree in the middle of the eating area with all other decorations extending out from it. Roll Up Cafe also displays local art and hosts a weekly open mic night.

What are your favorite local dessert spots? Let us know in the comments.

McKenna Park is an aspiring journalist and a student at BYU studying Communications. Contact her at mckennaleepark@gmail.com.

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