By Benjamin Carpenter, 2030
Autumn is here, and with it comes the many delicious baked treats associated with it. Pecan bars, pumpkin bread, maple cookies. And my personal favorite: Apple cider donuts.
The quintessential Northeastern fall treat, perhaps second only to pumpkin pie, apple cider donuts can be found at apple orchards, bakeries, and basically anywhere and everywhere during the harvest months. This fall season, I reviewed apple cider doughnuts from places all around Massachusetts, and recommend that you go and taste these for yourself. Enjoy!
Pizzi Farm, Waltham, MA – 9/10
Pizzi Farm is a small store located in Waltham. They also sell delicious ice cream (I am a particular fan of their soft serve) and have a deli and market inside the building.
Immediately upon opening the box of fresh donuts, I was hit with a wave of a delicious, appley smell, and it took every ounce of my will not to gobble all of them up right then and there. These donuts are medium-sized, about three inches in diameter. As for the taste, well, they tasted as good as they smelled. The apple flavor was clear and strong, and the cinnamon sugar on the outside was the perfect amount to add texture without making the donut too sweet. The inside of the donut was quite soft and cakey, and the outside provided a nice crunch. Overall, this donut immediately brought autumn to my mind, and I would highly recommend it. I will note, however, that they do not last very long, so I would eat these within the first two days of purchase.
Parlee Farms, Tyngsborough, MA – 8/10
Parlee Farms is a family-owned and operated farm in Tyngsborough, most famous for the Pick Your Own experiences, including Strawberries, Cherries, Blueberries, Peaches, Flowers, Apples, and Pumpkins. They have also been named the #1 Apple Orchard in the U.S. by Newsweek and Best Pick-Your-Own Fruit Farm in Massachusetts by Yankee Magazine.
Their apple cider donuts are much smaller than others, only about 2 inches in diameter, but don’t let that fool you. These are the most addicting donuts I have ever eaten, and I found myself craving a second bag as soon as I finished the first. The apple cider flavor was not quite as strong as some of the other donuts, yet I didn’t find myself wanting more. The outside of the donut was crispy and hard, and the inside was delightfully soft and light. However, I do wish there was slightly less cinnamon sugar.
Wilson Farms, Lexington, MA – 7/10
Wilson Farms is a local family-owned farm in Lexington renowned for their fresh produce and baked goods. They are usually very, very busy on the weekends, especially during the fall season, so be warned if you plan on going.
The donuts at Wilson Farms are made fresh on the weekends, and there’s not much that beats a fresh, piping hot apple cider donut. About 2 ½ inches in diameter, they have a fairly fragrant apple smell. Texture wise, these donuts aren’t as soft as some of the others, but that doesn’t necessarily take away from the taste. However, these were among the drier donuts that I reviewed. With a generous helping of cinnamon sugar, the apple flavor was slightly overpowered, but this could simply be fixed by brushing some of it off. I definitely would recommend not letting these sit out, as they quickly become tougher and drier than before. All in all, not a bad donut!
Costco, Waltham, MA – 5/10
Costco is a membership-only warehouse company famous for selling products in bulk for discounted prices. In addition, they also sell a vast variety of baked goods and other treats.
Upon taking a bite of a donut, I immediately noticed that these donuts were very, very soft. For some people, this might be a good thing, but in my opinion, I would rather a crispier outside. I suspect that these donuts may be baked as opposed to fried, causing this texture. I highly suggest that you warm these up somehow, as I personally found the texture much improved when I did. There was also much less cinnamon sugar on the outside, though this can be easily remedied at home. In addition, the donuts were less cakey and had a much weaker flavor than the donuts from other places. Overall, I would say these were my least favorite of all the donuts I sampled.
Wegmans, Burlington, MA – 5/10
Wegmans is a large, regional, family owned grocery store based in Rochester, New York.
As expected, grocery store donuts are far inferior to that of farms. The texture was much cakier and tough, even when warmed up, of which I was not a fan. Fortunately, however, the apple cider flavor was strong. The cinnamon sugar on the outside was not only overly abundant, but the ratio of cinnamon to sugar was quite skewed, as there was far too much cinnamon for my taste. Additionally, though the donuts were larger, about 4 inches in diameter, the hole was very large and I felt somewhat that I was being cheated ;). Considering these are grocery store donuts rather than freshly made farmstand ones, they surpassed my very low expectation, though not by much.
Homemade – 8/10
My family and I also baked some homemade donuts, of which you can find the recipe here.
Though I may be a tiny bit biased because I baked these donuts personally, I found these donuts different in a good way. There was a lot of apple flavor and the perfect amount of cinnamon sugar. The only thing I didn’t like was the texture, as they were very, very soft and fell apart easily, and lacked crunch. After eating a couple donuts on their own, we broke apart the rest and mixed the crumbs with vanilla ice cream, which I highly recommend for any apple cider donut.
Final Thoughts
I would definitely recommend the donuts from Pizzi Farm, Parlee Farms, and Wilson Farms, especially if you go and do some of the other activities they offer. I can’t say the same for Costco and Wegmans, however, as the pre-made donuts cannot possibly rival fresh made donuts. Overall, I definitely suggest that you go and try some apple cider donuts to celebrate the autumn season!
