A Sweet Excursion: Exploring Apple Cider Donuts in North Central Massachusetts

by Ann Gagliardi

Who doesn’t love apple cider donuts? The aromatic and flavorful treats with their soft, moist center and slightly crunchy outer layer, number among the many culinary delights of North Central Massachusetts. Johnny Appleseed Country provides one of the best places on earth for apple cider donut excursions.

The fame of the sweet treat has traveled far and wide. Many who grew up in North Central Massachusetts and then moved away associate the flavor with their childhood. But it’s not just people who grew up in the area who love the treat. A friend who lives in Vienna, Austria, recently told me, “I love apple cider donuts. They’re delicious.

Apple cider donuts belong to a donut subcategory known as cake donuts. They rely on baking powder and/or baking soda to rise, rather than yeast. Apple cider donut batter contains ample quantities of cinnamon, spices, and—surprise—tart apple cider. In North Central Massachusetts where orchards abound, cider donuts likely owe their distinctive flavor to apples produced by trees growing beside the kitchens where donuts were fried

Orchards, farm stands, and country stores throughout the region sell apple cider donuts. The tasty sweets always taste delicious, especially when served freshly rolled in cinnamon sugar straight out of the fryer

For many, apple cider donuts serve as a classic fall treat commonly enjoyed after apple-picking or at Christmas markets. In recent times, regional farms have made them available throughout the year. Sholan Farms of Leominster, for example, sells apple cider donuts made by nearby Robust Café at its spring festival and throughout the fall harvest season from August to October.

Some producers sell apple cider donuts at multiple locations. For example, Hollis Hills Farms sells the mat their farm location from August through the Christmas season, including available fresh-made daily through late October. After that, Hollis Hills Farms makes them available weekends at their Christmas Tree Farm a few miles from the fruit farm.

Red Apple Farm in Phillipston makes donuts every day of the year and sells them at Phillipston and Boston sales points year-round, at Wachusett Mountain during ski season, and by order online.

Purveyors of apple cider donuts value their traditions. David Chandler of Meadowbrook Orchards in Sterling said their baking department has used the same apple cider recipe for twenty-five years.

Kimball Fruit Farm in Pepperell has made their own apple cider donuts, sold at their Pepperell farm stand and nine farmers market sin the Boston area, for ten years, according to Amanda Wadleigh, the owner.

Kerri Green of Westward Orchards, a fourth-generation family owned and operated tree fruit and vegetable farm, told me that the donuts her father-in-law Don, an eighty-year-old Vietnam vet, almost always makes the donuts there. He took on the position of donut maker in his retirement, she said.

One important thing to know before setting out on an apple cider excursion: apple cider donuts do not stay on shelves long. According to Brian Vincent of Vincent’s Country Store in Westminster, their homemade apple cider donuts “typically sell out very quickly—often in under an hour.”

When setting out on an apple cider donut excursion with intentions to sample donuts on the way, aficionados will find it a good idea to call ahead and ask what time donuts are ready.

A final note: People display ingenuity. The apple cider envelope has broadened to include creative. For example, Mountainside Bakery & Café in Princeton sells apple cider muffins year round. Katherine Huck of Mountainside describes them as “generously sized apple cider-spiked muffins then dunked in butter and cinnamon sugar.” Although they’re not a traditional donut shape, they rank as a top seller at the bakery café.

Curious Cravings Bakery in Barre sells apple cider donut bread. At Brookfield Orchards in North Brookfield, customers can sample apple cider donut ice cream sandwiches, while at Quabbin Woods Restaurant in Petersham, it’s possible to try apple cider donut French toast. Fountain Confections in Clinton offers apple cider donut whoopie pies made with locally sourced apple cider.

What fun to visit apple cider donut vendors throughout Northern Central Massachusetts. May a wonderful excursion meet all seekers of the unique treat.

List of entities selling apple cider donuts or similar in North Central Massachusetts