Sweet as: The Blue Mountains’ best sweet shops

The Eats worlds are more than a little sweet on exploring the Blue Mountains. And it’s not just because of its epic vistas, thrilling adventure activities, world-class galleries, gorgeous gardens and fabulous wildlife. Nope! It is because we are world-class gluttons.

You see, the Blue Mountains isn’t just for romantic escapes or family breaks, it is a refuge for the sweet of tooth with enough candy stores, bakeries and chocolate shops to stop Willy Wonka in his sugar-dusted tracks.

This is not the place to quit sugar. It’s the place to quit your diet and give in to sweet temptation as you satisfy your chocolate cravings and gobble big bags full of lollies.

But where does a sugar-seeking visitor to the Blue Mountains start? And how do you get to them? Some of these spots are definitely for the self-drive visitors. Check out this awesome itinerary if you’re looking for some of the best things to see and do by car in the Blue Mountains besides eating candy.

But if you’re like us, and all about the sugar… here are four of our favourite sweet spots in the mountains for your next sugar fix.

Blue Mountains Chocolate Company  – Katoomba

Aboriginal dream-time legend may tell us that Katoomba’s three sisters, ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and Gunnedoo’ were turned to stone to protect them from harm by a witch doctor who was killed before he could reverse his spell. And science would have us believe that they were formed by erosion. But I have another theory. I think the girls have just been hanging around in Katoomba’s Echo Point because of its extremely close proximity to the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company (about 200-metres up the road). I mean a girl has got to have easy access to steaming cups of fine hot chocolate and luscious hand-crafted treats made from the finest Belgian couverture. Right?

Raffles, Sugarpuff and I were fortunate enough not only to taste the our way through the gorgeous chocolate store’s velvety real hot chocolate, 20 different flavoured chocolate bars and handfuls of individual chocolates and truffles including irresistibly explosive chilli chocolates, but to watch on as Master Chocolatier Adam, performed his mouth watering magic.

The Lolly Bug – Hartley

Located along the highway between Katoomba and Lithgow, you can’t miss the Lolly Bug with its bright yellow VW bugs out the front. And nor should you if you have a sweet tooth because this is a not-so-little slice of candy heaven.

Stocked with more than 2000 varieties of the finest candy, chocolates and sweets imported from far and wide, there is so much colourful candy in this store that I reckon Katy Perry may have gotten the inspiration for her cupcake-covered boobs and army of dancing gummy bears on a weekend break in Hartley.

The Gingerbread House – Katoomba

With its soaring timber-beamed ceiling, old stone walls, and pretty stained glass windows, this restored, 100 year old former church is now a temple of sweetness.

The Gingerbread House is a Hansel and Gretel style dream packed with jars of old-school lollies and hand pulled Australian lollipops as well as housing a café serving up ice-cream spiders (made with organic soda), decadent milkshakes, house baked gingerbread and cookies, cake, all natural ice cream and more! You can even try one of the savoury treats on the menu, but we nixed those on this sugar infused adventure.

Possibly the best feature though is its enclosed outdoor playground, complete with gingerbread cubbyhouse, where your kids can run, climb and slide away the sugar-infused energy as you sit back with a nice relaxing cuppa. Bliss.

The Candy Store – Leura

This one stop shop has my kids behaving like… well, kids in a candy store. The shelves are quite literally heaving with the collection of chocolate, fudge, lollies and other sugary treats sourced from around the world.

While Raffles and Sugapuff went into a chocolate freckle frenzy (they have them in every size imaginable) and I salivated over a decent selection of nougats and pralines, Mr Eats World went on sugar rush down memory lane as he inspected the hefty selection of rock candies and other British sweets treats from his childhood in England.

An award-winning travel writer and photographer, Aleney de Winter was fresh from school when she first set off to explore the far reaches of Australia with a two-man tent and a beaten-up Kingswood for company. Three decades, and two kids later, and she's still on the go, with her itchy-footed offspring in tow.