8 Chocolate Items To Buy During Your First Trip To Publix

Spend a few days in Florida (or nearby states in the southeast), and you'll start noticing the lime-green signs for Publix, the region's dominant supermarket. Spend any amount of time talking to locals, and you'll find they're ferociously loyal to the store — you'll likely hear raves about its famed fried chicken and overloaded sandwiches, its generously stocked bakery, and of course its chocolate offerings. 

Like any major supermarket, Publix can provide for almost any flavor craving you might have (though this could mean buying the ingredients and preparing food yourself). And if you're among those who can't get enough chocolate, Publix goes above and beyond. Of course you can get all your favorite national brands of cookies, candy, and ice cream. But its store-brand chocolate treats — some made in house — are even more memorable. If you're a first-time shopper at Publix, here are some of the chocolatey favorites, according to customers.

Prices are accurate as of the publication date and may vary by region.

You can count on most supermarket bakeries to offer the basics: rolls, muffins, pies, and birthday cakes in standard flavors. But Publix shoppers love the bakery for its fancier options, such as its cannolis – a treat you can't find at most supermarket bakeries. These crisp tubes of pastry come filled with the classic ricotta filling. But what elevates them is their chocolate finish — one end comes dipped in glossy dark chocolate, with a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips over the exposed filling.

You have a choice of either full-size cannoli (each about four inches long ) or cute mini cannolis, each big enough for a bite or two. Like many Publix bakery goods, the cannolis aren't entirely made in house – each store gets parbaked shells, which local bakers then bake until gold brown and crisp, fill, then dip. While cannolis are still a favorite with Publix shoppers, longtime customers say they were better in years past, when bakery staff filled the shells to order. Some regulars say it's still possible to get fresh-made cannolis. "If you're nice they may make you some on the spot," a Redditor said. 

Purchase Cannolis for $4.41.

While not always on display, Publix yo-yo cookies are a favorite among customers who have a serious sweet tooth. This treat consists of two chocolate chip cookies sandwiched around a thick layer of vanilla buttercream, then half-dipped in chocolate. Cute to look at and fun to eat and share with friends, they're not a treat for calorie counters — nor those looking for something simple and not super sweet.

Publix yo-yo cookies aren't a treat for the impatient, either. Not all Publix stores regularly make them, since according to Publix employees on Reddit, demand for them is irregular and the multi-step production process — filling cookies with icing, chilling them, dipping them in chocolate, then chilling them again – is time-consuming. You might have luck finding a pre-made platter of yo-yo cookies around Christmas (which makes sense, since this is when we all want something special for sharing). But if you don't see them on display, you can still order these treats for pickup the next day — and one Redditor reported a baker even making them for him on the spot.

Purchase Yo-Yo Cookies for $4.41.

If you're unfamiliar with bridge mix, it's an old-school candy consisting of assorted chocolate-covered goodies — everything from nuts to caramels to fruit-flavored jellies. It's commonly thought to be named for its equally old-fashioned purpose: to provide players a tidy but tasty finger food to munch on during games of bridge.

While far from trendy, bridge mix, like the game of bridge, still has devoted fans, many of whom were distraught when Brach's pulled the chocolate-covered jellies from its popular mix. Many found the Publix brand of bridge mix not only an acceptable substitute, but delicious in its own right. "It covers all the bases for me," a fan said on Reddit. But according to the current data on the Publix website, the store appears to have switched out the raspberry fillings for malted milk balls and peanut toffee crunch. Still, it's an affordable treat — at this writing, $3.49 for an 8-ounce package. This has made the bridge mix an under-the-radar favorite of Publix shoppers. "Ppl love this!! That's hard to keep in stock," a Publix manager wrote on Reddit.

Purchase Bridge Mix for $3.49.

A peek into the cake display case at Publix reveals how seriously the store takes its bakery. Its signature cakes don't look like typical supermarket cakes topped with a few icing roses or plastic action figures — they look like they came from a high-end pastry shop. Among the most stunning-looking cakes is the chocolate ganache supreme cake, decorated with striped chocolate batons on its sides and topped with decorative lacy ribbons of dark chocolate. It's a look that will both charm little kids and impress grown-up chocolate snobs.

And according to fans, it tastes as good as it looks The layers of moist chocolate cake are filled with a creamy whipped chocolate filling, then covered with chocolate ganache frosting. "This cake I buy my daughter every year for her birthday for the last 3 years she will be 16 next month and she already asked for this one, very delicious," a fan wrote on Facebook. Others note that the whole of the cake is better than its individual parts – the fluffy interior is pleasant but unremarkable on its own, but makes a perfect complement to the moist cake and fudgey frosting.

Purchase the Chocolate Ganache Supreme Round Cake for $26.99.

If you're a first-time shopper at Publix, don't forget to check out the freezer case. Besides a generous assortment of high- and low-end national ice cream brands, Publix offers a surprisingly ambitious assortment of store-brand ice cream flavors, many of which are limited-edition specials or seasonal offerings, which can include unique flavors such as peanut butter and jelly and maple chocolate chip pancake. Publix regulars know better than to treat the store-brand ice cream as a budget afterthought — this is ice cream to look forward to.

But the year-round flavor offerings can be memorable as well. Chocolate lovers shouldn't miss the fan-favorite Chocolate Trinity Ice Cream, which, as its name suggests, crams three forms of chocolate – a chocolate ice cream base, a fudge ribbon, and mini fudge cups – into a single bite. If your pet peeve is that chocolate ice cream is never chocolaty enough, this might be just what you've been waiting for. "Finally someone got chocolate ice cream right!!" a Redditor wrote. "Thank you Publix."

Purchase the Chocolate Trinity Ice Cream for $4.41.

Do you love French pain au chocolat and almond croissants in equal measure and hate having to choose between them? Now you don't have to — the chocolate almond bretzel at Publix is a love child between these French classics, only humongous and pretzel shaped. Made of croissant dough filled with chocolate almond butter, knotted into a pretzel shape, and generously topped with almonds and more chocolate, it makes a decadent breakfast or coffee snack.

The viral popularity of these treats, however, makes obtaining them a challenge. If you want them (they come in packs of two, but each pastry is easily big enough to feed two normal-sized people), get to the bakery early – chocolate almond bretzel's sell out fast. "These things sell within the hour I put them on the floor," a self-identified Publix bakery employee wrote on Reddit. Online reviewers confirm this, reporting that they had to visit Publix multiple times before being able to get their hands on a box of them — but the hunt is well worth it, according to customers. 

Purchase the Chocolate Almond Bretzel for $2.97.

The chocolate chip cookies at Publix are a sentimental favorite for longtime shoppers for a unique reason: Publix has a longstanding custom of offering free cookies to children, so second-generation Publix shoppers grew up eating them while their parents shopped. There's nothing earth-shakingly unique about them — they're simply a well-made version of the store-bought cookies you've had at every church or school function ever. But if you're new to Publix, they're an essential part of the store's culture.

So what are they like? It depends on which chocolate chip version you choose. Online reviewers describe the regular cookie base as soft, dense, and not too sweet, with each cookie holding a generous quantity of chocolate chips. Some report that the Greenwise chocolate chip cookies (Publix's organic line) are crisper. And the store's vegan version has serious fans. "The vegan chocolate chip ones are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had," a Redditor said. But the basic version handed out to kids remains popular even with those who now have to pay for their cookies themselves. "I can literally eat an entire box of that by myself in a couple hours," a fan wrote on Reddit.

Purchase the Chocolate Chip Cookies for $6.63.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the leadership of Crumbl should be honored to see the Decadent line of cookies at Publix. The big, round confections — thick cookies topped with a generous swirl of icing — are obvious copycat versions of Crumbl's trendy treats. And some tasters think they are even better than their inspiration. "Publix now has their own version of Crumbl cookies and to be honest they're actually better," a Redditor said. "I like the texture of the cookies, because they're more crunchy than chewy."

Chocolate fans have two options for Decadent cookies: cookies and cream (a chocolate cookie topped with a creamy frosting with chocolate cookie bits), and for serious chocoholics, the Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies — chocolate cookies topped with fudgy chocolate icing, a ganache center, and crunchy chocolate bits. Tasters describe it as something like a brownie topped with fudge – and what chocolate lover could object to that?

Purchase the Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies for $3.60.