French Cruellers?

September 8, 2004 5:33 PM

I have fond memories of what I thought was called a French Crueller. Classic round donut shape only with a fluted outer surface, raised dough, but with a more popover-y kind of texture than your standard yeast donut. But I can't find any! Have you spotted these lately? Where? (Bonus if it's in Central Texas.) Maybe you call them something other than French Cruellers?
posted by kmel to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

the only crullers i've ever had that fit your description were from the grocery store, specifically king soopers & albertson's.

and yes, they are yummy.
posted by littlegirlblue at 5:36 PM on September 8, 2004

Winchell's had them before they went under. Krispy Kreme appears to have them, but until you test the texture, it's hard to say.
posted by weston at 5:46 PM on September 8, 2004

Dunkin' Donuts has 'em too.
posted by riffola at 5:49 PM on September 8, 2004

Response by poster: I think the Krispy Kreme ones are cake donuts in a fancy shape. And went to our sole local Dunkin' Donuts, and they had something called a crueller, but it was a bar-shaped frosted cake donut thing. I'm confused. Maybe other locations have the kind I'm talking about.
posted by kmel at 5:58 PM on September 8, 2004

At Tim Horton's the exact thing you describe is called a french cruller, as you remember. Good luck, they're my favourite too!
posted by nprigoda at 5:59 PM on September 8, 2004

(My mom says that they might be called the honey cruller)
posted by nprigoda at 6:00 PM on September 8, 2004

have you considered looking for Freedom Cruellers? :-)
posted by reverendX at 6:18 PM on September 8, 2004

Definitely Dunkies; for a few months I had one every Sunday morning. Chocolate frosted, french cruller, and a black coffee. Good times. Donut is exactly as described.

Then again, there are no fewer than four Dunkin Donuts within half a mile of my apartment. In an area of lesser density, your donut mileage may vary.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:21 PM on September 8, 2004

How about a beignet instead? Popover consistency French 'donuts.' This place: Crescent City Beignets (1211 W. Sixth, Austin, 472-9622) is the best place you can get them outside of Cafe Dumonde in New Orleans. Not exactly what you're looking for, but it might satisfy the craving.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:28 PM on September 8, 2004

Response by poster: Hoo mommy, I LOVE Crescent City Beignets. But sadly it's not the same fried dough experience.
posted by kmel at 6:42 PM on September 8, 2004

50 cents on every other street corner in Manhattan. If you don't know what they're called the guy will bark 'Cruller! It'sa cruller!' at you as he takes your money.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:54 PM on September 8, 2004

Every small to large town in Canada has a Tim Hortons, and Tim has "crullers." They're my favourite, those few times I venture into that horrid place.

I'm thinking you probably don't have three Tim Hortons within walking distance like I (and probably most other Canadians) do...
posted by five fresh fish at 7:42 PM on September 8, 2004

Handy Andy's in San Antonio used to have them.
posted by lobakgo at 8:05 PM on September 8, 2004

Tim Hortons does have exactly what you want and calls them honey crullers. I once tried the Krispy Kreme version thinking it would be all light and fluffy like their glazed ones, but they were the worst. They were just the cake donuts dressed up to look like crullers - ignore them.

I've never seen a commercial version in a grocery store, but I tend to find that one-off bakeries or pastry shops are a good place to get authentic tasting pies and pastries, that would be my suggestion.
posted by Cyrie at 9:45 PM on September 8, 2004

Dunkin' Donuts does have a French Cruller, maybe you could try another location if the one near your house doesn't make 'em.
posted by riffola at 10:29 PM on September 8, 2004

Winchell's went under?! Well, crap, that's a problem since crullers are my favorite donuts too, and they were the best source for them in Seattle. I think some of the independent donut shops here have them sometimes, though. They are crullers, not "cruellers", AFAIK. I guess all I can suggest is to try every independent donut shop you can find.

kamikazegopher, beignets are wonderful but they are quite different from a good cruller. :)
posted by litlnemo at 11:09 PM on September 8, 2004

In Germany they have them but there they are called "Spritzringe", meaning they are a ring that is sprayed. Near enough a good description, 'cept extruded would be better. Not that it matters in Texas.
posted by Goofyy at 11:34 PM on September 8, 2004

Response by poster: Goofyy: it might matter in Texas ... we have a big German population. Fredericksburg, near Austin, is one old enclave with lots of German bakeries. So if I call ahead, I can put Spritzringe on my list of things to ask about.

Relatedly, my "crueller" spelling would imply that it came from a German spelling with an umlauted u, yes? Which appears to be entirely wrong. Cruller. Got it.

And I swear I saw some Winchell's on a recent west coast trip. Didn't I?
posted by kmel at 1:33 PM on September 9, 2004

a coworker brought a bag of donuts in this morning and i was pleased to see a cruller in the mix. all the "happy donut" locations around san francisco seem to have them (plain, plain with chocoloate topping, plain with maple topping, chocolate and chocolate with chocolate topping).

i'd be happy to embark on a journey of discovery for you to determine if i speak the truth. it wouldn't be any trouble at all. (smacks lips).
posted by heather at 5:13 PM on September 10, 2004

And I swear I saw some Winchell's on a recent west coast trip. Didn't I?

You did. Sorry to give you false information. Apparently they've simply pulled out of a number of states, including mine (Utah), but they appear to be open in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington. Curiously enough, Alaska was listed as an <option> in that drop down menu, but commented out.

And now that you mention it, I remember stopping at one in Whittier California 2-3 years back.
posted by weston at 8:42 PM on September 10, 2004