Katz Gluten-Free Donuts

Since going gluten-free, I've been on the hunt for a good donut.  When I'm in New York, L.A. or Orlando, I eat Babycakes donuts shamelessly for three meals a day.  But the rest of the year, I'm left with limited options.  Most of those come from the freezer at the local natural foods store. 

Recently, Katz Gluten-Free has added donuts to their sizable collection of baked goods.  I ordered everything they have to offer: jelly donuts, custard donuts and powdered donuts.  The Katz donuts are the first gluten-free filled donuts I have had that weren't made in my own kitchen. 

It was suggested I pay extra for two-day shipping for the donuts and freeze them upon delivery.  I did just that, two days before Christmas.  On Christmas Eve, I left them out on the counter overnight to thaw so we could enjoy them for Christmas breakfast.

The jelly and custard filled donuts are interesting--more baseball shaped than filled donut shaped, kind of like a giant fritter.  All three of the donuts, the filled varieties and powdered sugar, tasted very similar.  They aren't quite as light and fluffy as a gluten-full fried donut but they also aren't a cake donut. 

If I were to order these again, I would microwave them for a few seconds before eating them.  They seemed to get a bit more moist in the microwave. Otherwise they were a tiny bit dry.  Of the store-bought variety of gluten-free donuts, these are the most donut-like that I've tried.

Here's what I really liked about Katz Gluten-Free: the sampler pack.  It is free when you order on-line, just pay for the shipping.  Since I was already ordering, I added this to my order.  It's a compact little box packed full of samples of many of their products.  I tried 3 kinds of bread, a cupcake, a muffin, marble cake, a few kinds of rugelech and cookies.  The challah bread was divine. 

If you are gluten-free or having gluten-free guests, give these donuts a try.  It's nice to have more donut options!

Katz Gluten-Free Bake Shop is located in Monroe, NY and ships direct to your door as well as sells to retail outlets.  There is a store locator on their website.

Donuts Trendy in 2012?

It's that time of year again. Every December and January the food world is inundated with lists of hot food trends for 2012.  This time around, donuts got a little mention.

The James Beard Foundation Blog predicts donuts (or doughnuts, as it may be in their more refined world) will continue with their resurgence in popularity.  They've also suggested more regional and international varieties of donuts will make appearances. 

The article points out that between 2010 and 2011 the amount of  "doughnut-dedicated content" on Serious Eats rose roughly eighty percent.  I was so ahead of this trend way back in 2009 when I started this crazy donut blog. For a minute, I did think donuts, specifically novelty donuts topped with Fruity Pebbles and Tang or Maple and Bacon, would be the next cupcake. So far that hasn't happened and I still live in a donut desert with not a single novelty donut shop within 3 hours drive. Oh, Donut Whole, won't you please come to Kansas City?

Here's my donut prediction for 2012:  more allergen- and dietary restriction-friendly donut options will be available.  I suppose it's not really a prediction since I've already sampled some of the new offerings.  I'll be back soon to tell you about them.

Happy New Year!

A Sad Moment in My Donut World

A little over two years ago, I wrote about the donut shop that started it all for me, Dunkin' Donuts in St. Joseph, Missouri.  On December 27th, they sold their last donut.

Click here for the news story from the St. Joseph newspaper.

And click here for the story from The St Joe Channel. 

I'm not a big proponent of national donut chains, more a fan of the locally owned shops.  But this particular Dunkin' Donuts location was the donut shop of my childhood. It opened the year I was born, I ate plenty of pink frosted donuts in the swivel chairs at the counter.  I'll sure miss that place!

Muncher's Bakery, Lawrence, Kansas

On a cold, dreary Saturday, John and I made the drive to Lawrence to visit Muncher's Bakery.

Muncher's is located in a small strip mall, near a grocery store we visit when in the area.  How we managed to miss a donut shop for so long is beyond me.  Recently someone told me we had to visit Muncher's to get a cream cheese donut.  So off we went.

As we pulled off of the turnpike, I asked the toll booth attendant if he liked donuts from Muncher's.  He said he had never been there but knew many people who had.  He did question me about making a long drive for them.  Maybe the donuts weren't really THAT good. 

The first thing I noticed inside Muncher's was the bakery cases.  They are wood.  Beautiful, old wood.  In all of the donut shops I've visited, I've never seen bakery cases quite like these. 

The cases were full of donuts, croissants, cakes...just about anything you can imagine at a bakery.  John ordered a variety of goodies and I went off in search of the bathroom. It was a long drive to get here...

To reach the bathroom, I had to find my way through the dimly lit interior, walk through no fewer than a dozen old men sitting drinking coffee and eating donuts and wind through the kitchen before turning down a narrow hallway.  Nothing fancy, but a trip to the bathroom did provide a good look at the whole place, from the loafing old fellas area to the kitchen where I palettes with 50 pound bags of flour occupied much of the floor space. 

So here's the report on the donuts.  John thought they were mediocre.  He wouldn't drive 2 hours round trip to get them.  I am guessing the popularity is based on a couple of things:  they are open 24 hours a day--a bonus in a college town and their donuts are cheap. Not that these donuts were bad, just nothing worth driving out of town to buy.

The tiny little cinnamon roll bites were a great size.

The apple fritters were more like a typical filled donut, except they weren't filled with apples, just a few apples in the batter.  These are different from most donut shop fritters.

I thought this bench was really cute.
Muncher's Bakery is located at 925 Iowa Street in Lawrence, Kansas.  Take cash, no credit cards are accepted.

Go on, have a donut!

I've got a few quick pieces of donut news to share with you...

First, this article from Fitbie on MSN. The article shares how to shave 250 calories off of your diet with simple food changes.  They have suggested switching from a chocolate muffin to a chocolate glazed donut.  I've said many times the donut gets a bad wrap.  A glazed donut is usually around 200 calories, far fewer than a muffin or a bagel.  Now to eat just one...

Second, the fabulous gals over at Electrified Cooks have shared a recipe for Apple Butter Filled Apple Cider Cupcakes, inspired by the fall favorite Cider Donuts.  Perfect for this time of year!  Let me know if you try it or even better, drop a few by.  I'd love to sample them. :)

Le Petit Rouge baked donuts, Kansas City, MO

This adorable signed called out to me:

And on the opposite side of Reading Reptile's entrance, this:

Well, of course I had to go in!


Inside the Le Petit Rouge bakery case, these waited for me. One plate of beautiful, cinnamon sugar-crusted baked donuts:

The fella behind the cash register in the bookstore called over to me, "Need some cupcakes?" Nope, just donuts today please.








I asked for 3 donuts, a total of $4.06 with tax. The fella told me while they were still good at 1 in the afternoon, they are best when they are fresh, I should drop by some Saturday between 10 and 11 in the morning. Donuts are only offered on Saturday mornings. In all of my donut journeys, only one other bakery has made a similar statement and that was Babycakes. I love it when folks want us to experience only the very best of a sweet treat. Interesting that both places who have mentioned this offered baked donuts.

I brought my tiny box of 3 donuts home. I smelled them. I broke one in half to closely inspect the interior texture. But I couldn't eat them (silly gluten) and they had to wait until almost 11 in the evening to be consumed by my husband. More than 12 hours past their peak, they were still delicious.

My husband John reports the donuts were very sweet even without the addition of cinnamon and sugar. Some donuts would be bland, bread-y, without frosting on top. That is not what these donuts are like, they would be delicious unadorned. The flavor reminded John of a good fried buttermilk donut, but these are baked. The donuts were like eating a really great cake donut without the weight that often comes with a fried donut. At 11 o'clock at night, they were still a great treat, all  gone in a matter of minutes.

Le Petit Rouge is located inside of Reading Reptile in the Brookside area of Kansas City. They are located at 328 West 63rd Street, Kansas City, Missouri.  Even if it's not Saturday when you drop by, you'll find a delicious assortment of cupcakes, hand pies, caramels, whoopie pies and bars.  But go on Saturday, it's worth a special trip just for the donuts!

David Lebovitz AND Babycakes!

I love it when my favorite things come together.  David Lebovitz shared this post, complete with a terrific video, about his recent book signing and baking adventure at my all-time favorite gluten-free, vegan bakery, Babycakes.  It's a fun video, watch it!

David Lebovitz at BabyCakes NYC: A Chat and Some Donuts! from BabyCakes NYC on Vimeo.

I've mentioned Babycakes a few times...well okay, more than a few. Thanks to Mandy, I had donuts from their NYC outpost, then visited their Disney World location. Over at 52 Sweets, I made a chocolate chicory frosting for donuts from the latest Babycakes cookbook, and then a couple weeks later baked lemon pistachio twists, also using the Babycakes recipe.  Whether you eat gluten-free or vegan or are just a plain ol' carnivore, find your way to Babycakes.  You'll be glad you did!