If you can find these, they are fine. Oddly, they were sold out where I live for most of the past few months, and now Dunkin’ has pivoted to their Halloween specialty donuts, which I expect sell much better than apple cider. I was able to find the donut (not hole) version a few times, and they are a traditional cinnamon sugar donut with a light apple flavor. Interestingly, the cinnamon donut from the normal Dunkin’ menu is more of a cinnamon powder style, so this apple cider take is a nice variation. Pretty good and definitely worth buying if they have them, but not worth hunting for.
Whenever I travel, I try to find a local donut shop to check out. As I wrote about last time, they can be hard to find. Sometimes that’s because Dunkin’ dominates and there really aren’t local options; other times, it’s because they are tucked away.
I recently visited Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which is generally dominated by Dunkin’ and a local chain called Honey Dew. However, I got lucky a few years ago when I discovered Chatham Village Cafe and Bakery, where they make classic donut flavors like cinnamon sugar (below), old fashioned, chocolate-iced and Boston creme. Getting a large iced coffee and a truly fresh, homemade donut, then sitting on the picnic tables outside, is an incredible way to start the day.
This past weekend, I decided to go on another donut trek, this time about 30 minutes north of where I live, to Peekskill, NY. There, tucked into the ground floor of the Peekskill Brewery, is Peaceful Provisions, a tiny outpost for small-batch donuts. From the outside of the brewery, you would never know there is a donut shop inside. But once there, I loved their small, yet impressive selection of donuts, which were mostly filled creations like their special maple pecan donut filled with cherry compote.
Peaceful Provisions menu
Selection from Peaceful Provisions
Both of these experiences were so awesome, but I had to seek out these locations and really explore to find them. Local donuts definitely exist, but they are not always obvious or easy to find. These spots may not have big signs, ad campaigns or locations in every rest stop on the highway. But when you track them down, they are pretty special.
