Cronut, Shronut. This pastry better watch its ass. The ice cream stuffed donut is nipping at its heels.

I think a local burger place is teasing people with a potential Cronut burger sometime soon.

stevez wrote:Cronut, Shronut. This pastry better watch its ass. The ice cream stuffed donut is nipping at its heels

I've been wondering for years why Dunkin/Baskin doesn't offer this, or a sundae atop a donut. I'd go for that. Imagine a warm caramel topping on butter pecan ice cream atop an apple cruller.

A local bakery in Villa Park deep fries their regular croissants and then glazes them. Flat, greasy and not good. Very different than what Ansel is making.

I'll have to try one before I judge.

Any places in Streeterville, Portage Park, or Jefferson Park sell them?

I'm a couple months late on reporting, but I was in NYC over Thanksgiving and got in line for the Cronuts. I'll post pics as soon as I can, but the short answer: very good, but absolutely not worth waiting 2 hours in line for.

The best thing about the cronut is the texture, and the loads of butter incorporated into it. I don't use the term often, but there was clearly a lot of R & D involved in getting the texture just right. Also, we tried a lot of other things at Dominique Ansel Bakery, and I can wholeheartedly recommend visiting during regular hours for their other pastries (such as the DKA).

That said, as an alternative to the original Cronut, I'd very strongly recommend going down to Chikalicious Dessert Club in the East Village for their version - the Doughssant. Yes, it's a terrible name, but this is not some fly-by-night knockoff. Chikalicious Dessert Bar across the street is one of my favorite places in NYC - and the Doughssant is quite excellent, but without the same publicity.

It's not better or worse than the Cronut - it's just different. The Cronut is rich and decadent; the Doughssant is light and delicate. They're essentially two different interpretations on the same idea, and are exquisitely crafted. I think I actually prefer the Chikalicious' version, but I need more research to really decide.

After much reflection, I have concluded that Cronuts do not make good hamburger buns. I don't see how just a regular doughnut or croissant even work this way. In fact, they are terrible for giant hamburgers with cheese and bacon and fried eggs.


Cronut Burger from Zombie Burger in Des Moines by Tyrgyzistan, on Flickr

Tyrgyzistan wrote:

Cronut Burger from Zombie Burger in Des Moines by Tyrgyzistan, on Flickr

How could that possibly not be truly wondrous?

Kaufman's has cronuts! And they're really good! Nicely sweet, and surprisingly light.

Sometimes they have chocolate or raspberry varieties. Today they had plain ones:

Getting off the L a couple weeks ago, I passed a Dunkin' Donuts (which I hate) and decided to grab a cup of coffee (which I'll drink every now and then). I don't know how it happened but somehow I ended up with a Croissant Donut. I didn't even know they sold these things. Turns out they're quite new—at Dunkin' Donuts, that is.





It tastes exactly as I remember DD's glazed donuts—which is to say it's overwhelmingly sweet without a lot of other flavor. Missing is the croissant's flaky layered texture but it does have a certain density that I kind of enjoyed. If Dunkin' is able to successfully sell these at twice the price of a regular donut, my hat is off to them.

Lest anyone get any wrong ideas, this creation has absolutely nothing to do with Dominique Ansel's Cronut™. Let's set the record straight, okay?

Candice Choi (Associated Press) wrote:John Costello, Dunkin's president of global marketing and innovation, said in a phone interview that bakers around the country have been mixing doughnuts and croissants for at least 20 years. He said Dunkin' is constantly tracking consumer and bakery trends and has been looking at pastry "combinations" for several years now. "Are we copying a specific bakery in New York? The answer is no."

I don't know how anyone could think such a thing.

Funny, I went today and considered it but figured I wouldn't like it.

The fritter is different in appearance and taste than I recall as were the glazed donuts. All were ,at best, unremarkable.

No need to return.

I tried one of the Dunkin ones also, and found it not really any different from a cruller.
In fact I think I like the crullers better
E

Count me among the victims of the DD hype.... Tried one yesterday and thought it was just a glorified raised glazed doughnut. If there were "24 layers of buttery dough" (as the press release says), most of those layers eluded me. And the $1.99 price is not justified by anything special.