THE SCENT OF HOMEMADE BREAD fresh from the oven. The taste of my late mother-in-law’s best-ever gooey caramel rolls. The rustic look of a cracked gingersnap cookie. All appeal to me. All bring a flood of memories.
I appreciate the love and labor that go into baking and the memories I associate with homemade baked goods.
Perhaps for those reasons I am drawn to small town bakeries, including a regional favorite, Hi Quality Bakery in Cannon Falls. On a recent day trip to that Goodhue County community, Randy and I made the bakery our second stop. After the local Chamber of Commerce office, where we were tipped off to buy-one-get-one-free Fritter Friday at the bakery a few doors down.
Soon we found ourselves inside the bakery, admiring the baked goods, but disciplining ourselves to ordering two fritters. Apple and blueberry.
This popular bakery has been a Cannon Falls mainstay since 1947 with original recipes passed through several changes in ownership. The fresh-baked treats and breads remain popular with locals, with visitors like us and with natives returning back home. A bakery clerk referenced a recent returnee from Texas who made Hi Quality her first stop.
I understand the draw. There’s something Norman Rockwell appealing about stepping inside a small town bakery. There’s something appealing about standing before glass cases of pastries and breads and sweet treats contemplating the choices. There’s something anticipatory about accepting a white paper bag with a pastry nestled inside.
Small town bakeries rate as one of life’s simple delights.
On this Friday morning inside the Cannon Falls bakery, I noticed an array of Halloween-themed cookies filling trays. And I thought of the artist who crafted these—the spiders and mummies and webs… Baking and decorating truly are art forms.
And I noticed, too, rows of rosettes neatly lining a baking sheet. The Norwegian cookie proved a popular buy during a recent local lutefisk dinner, a clerk shared.
Rosettes. Fritters. Cupcakes. Cookies. Breads. Donuts. And much more. A baker rose early to create these bakery delights. I’m grateful for that dedication to craft, for the baked goods that draw me into small town bakeries like Hi Quality in Cannon Falls.
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TELL ME: Do you have a favorite local bakery? I’d like to hear. And if you have tips on the bakery’s specialty, I’d like to hear that, too.
Hi Quality Bakery is open from 6 am – 5 pm Tuesday-Friday and from 6 am – 1 pm Saturday. You can order online for pick-up. Click here to visit the bakery’s website.
Please check back next week for more photos from downtown Cannon Falls.
© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Oh so CREATIVE – love a cookie like that as a splurge 🙂 I love a good fritter too – have been thinking of maybe trying to make a healthier version of like an apple fritter in coffee cake form. I so miss the bakeries and meat markets – not quite the same here. Really have to know the inner workings of the neighborhoods to find those types of places along with great ma and pa restaurants too. Now I want a sweet treat – Happy Day – Enjoy!
I expected you would share my appreciation for small town bakeries. Meat markets are another good example. Your apple fritter in coffee cake form sounds delicious. I hope you can perfect it, or find a recipe.
I love a good bakery and wish I could still eat baked goods like I am a teenager – ha!
Laughing…me, too.
I have always heard this was a great bakery, but I’ve never been there. I’ll have to try it sometime.
Yes, you definitely need to stop.
Just yesterday my dad and I were out for a drive and stopped at one of our favorites in Red Wing.
https://hanischbakery.com/ We walked away with 2 long Johns and some jam-filled pastries. Rick, Gavin and my parents were the recipients, as I have been Gluten-free for 1 1/2 years now. Pastries are my downfall so eating gluten free has been a good thing for me. I will need to check out Cannon Falls bakery sometime, I’ll bring someone along with me who can enjoy the goodies.
I’ve heard good things about the Red Wing bakery also. Glad you treated some loved ones, including your dad, to sweet treats. I also like Bloedow’s Bakery in Winona. I expect you’ve been there.
It takes much discipline to follow a specific diet. I hope going gluten-free has proved beneficial. I expect it has, or you’d be eating those pastries.
Wonderful post. Found their website, and liked!. Will make trip to the bakery from Northfield, where the local bakery has been closed for almost a year due to illness of one of the owners. So sad. I missed their fruitcake and legendary peanut brittle last season.
Harry, I’m sorry to hear that your bakery in Northfield has been closed for nearly a year, but certainly understandable due to illness. Thank you for appreciating the Cannon Falls bakery and for planning a visit there. I, too, like their website and the “clean” focus on product. It’s an incredibly well done site. I hope you enjoy the bakery as much as I do.
What a great bakery! Those fritters look amazing. We have two fabulous bakeries in our little town. They are both pretty amazing.
Oh, two bakeries. Yum.
We have the most wonderful bakery in Fergus: Falls Baking! delicious treats…the Dakota Bread is OTW!!!!!!!!!!!! Lisa
Lisa, thank you for sharing about your wonderful bakery in Fergus Falls. When our son attended NDSU, we spent some time in Fergus Falls on our way to Fargo. I enjoyed your downtown a lot, especially the art gallery and the print shop. And then there’s that otter sculpture…