Fairy Tale Delights at Briar Rose Bakery in Farmington.

Miniature pies are adorable. Imagine a place, though, where the adorable pies are outdone by the surroundings, a country cottage in the Ozarks where delectable savory and sweet treats co-exist side by side. Welcome... to the Briar Rose Zone.

Delta Doughnuts - Lybrand's Bakery in Pine Bluff Dates Back to 1940.

The former Main Street mainstay at the intersection of Arkansas's Timberland and Delta has flourished through the generations. Let's visit Lybrand's Bakery in Pine Bluff.

Lost to Time: Klappenbach Bakery in Fordyce.

Klappenbach Bakery in Fordyce was for a long time the bakery standard which most other Arkansas bakeries were judged.  It closed in September 2011.

Take a look back with this article from September 2010.

Magnolia Bake Shop in Magnolia is Arkansas's Oldest Bakery.

The oldest bakery in Arkansas may very well be the Magnolia Bake Shop.  Opened in 1928, it’s been in the family 88 years.

Sweets to Eat: Paul's Bakery in Van Buren.

Since 1959, Paul's Bakery has fed doughnuts, cakes and other sweet treats to generations in Van Buren. Let's take a look inside.

Julie Steps Out, Does Good at Julie's Sweet Shoppe and Bakery in Conway.

Despite being in one of Arkansas's most bakery-saturated cities, Julie Goodnight's decision to step out on her own and begin her own bakery has been a successful one.

Baked Fresh: Julie's Sweet Shoppe in Conway.

I've been going to see Julie Goodnight at Ed's Custom Bakery in Conway for ages. Butterfly rolls for Thanksgiving, toad cookies (green glazed toad-shaped sugar cookies) for Toad Suck Daze and doughnuts year-round... Julie knows how to make good stuff and I have been thrilled to work with her, first at Today's THV (now THV 11) and later in my roll as food writer.

Everyone's gotta fly at some point or another, and Julie's doing just that. After 27 years at Ed's Custom Bakery, Julie has left the Oak Street eatery to strike out on her own, taking on the big responsibility of a booming business. On Veteran's Day, Julie's Sweet Shoppe opened its doors to a crowd -- a mass of veterans who have been coming to Ed's each year on that date to enjoy breakfast and a chance to catch up.

Julie's, housed in the former Wimpy's location (which I am a little sad to see disappear from Conway), offers more space for patrons... and Julie herself is offering new things that go beyond the traditional bakery fare -- things like chocolate gravy and biscuits, for one. Things like this Jalapeno Kolache -- which, she says, is a jalapeno-spiced sausage within that lovely bread. Things like sweet buns and scones. Oh yeah.

But the good stuff you're used to from before? It's all still here. Sugar cookies, mammoth sugar-crystal topped muffins, fresh breads and rolls and doughnuts too (yes, even my Kryptonite, red velvet cake doughnuts!). And there are fried pies, which make me happy. Don't fried pies make you happy?


Though I lament the disappearance of my favorite raspberry shake at Wimpy's, I'm quite thrilled about Julie's -- not just because of Julie herself but because I now have a great stopping-off point before I begin journeys up Highway 65. Check out the Facebook page for specials.