In Sterling, a small Cayuga County town that sits closer to Lake Ontario than to any of the Finger Lakes, Sweets By Sarah Bakery has established itself as the region's top bakery by the only metric that matters: the people who live here voted it Gold for Best Bakery two years running, in 2024 and 2025, and added a Silver for Best Cookies in 2025 for good measure. That kind of consecutive dominance in a readers' choice competition does not come from clever marketing. It comes from scratch-made baked goods that are worth driving for.

The operation is rooted in family baking traditions, and you can taste the difference between Sarah's approach and the mass-produced pastries that fill most supermarket bakery cases in the region. Everything is made from scratch, with the kind of attention to ingredients and technique that turns a simple loaf of bread or a tray of cookies into something memorable. The cookies in particular have carved out their own reputation, competing at a level that earned them Silver alongside dedicated cookie specialists.

Sterling is not a destination that appears on most Finger Lakes travel itineraries, which makes Sweets By Sarah a genuine hidden gem. The bakery sits on Main Street in a town that most visitors would blow through on Route 104A without a second glance. That would be a mistake. Whether you are heading to Fair Haven Beach State Park, exploring the northern Cayuga County countryside, or simply willing to drive a little farther for baked goods that are measurably better than anything at the grocery store, Sweets By Sarah deserves a spot on your list.