A year and a half ago, New York-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel unleashed the Cronut on the world. The croissant-doughnut hybrid — flaky, fried and filled with pastry cream — has been copied by supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants across the world, but the original still has customers lining up at Ansel’s SoHo bakery, buying them for $5 apiece.
In recent months, at least three national restaurant chains have tried to get in on the action.
On Nov. 3, Dunkin’ Donuts introduced the Croissant Donut, a flaky, glazed croissant ring. The chain flat-out denied that it was a copy of the New York item. John Costello, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.’s president of global marketing and innovation, told the Associated Press — which noted that the Cronut is trademarked — that croissant-doughnut hybrids had been around for at least 20 years.
“Are we copying a specific bakery in New York?” he said. “The answer is no.”
However, Dunkin’ certainly did what it could to mimic the Cronut’s scarcity. The operator said each bakery would only prepare a limited number of pastries each day, and when they were out, they were out. The pastries were served in individual gift boxes with a clear window, at a suggested price of $2.49, more than twice the price of a standard doughnut.
Dunkin’s hybrid came three months after Jack in the Box added a Croissant Donut to its permanent menu. Dusted in cinnamon sugar, it’s a humbler imitation, priced at just 89 cents, or $1.99 for three.
This month, Red Robin introduced a similar dessert, presented in a tower, mimicking its own onion rings but unabashedly acknowledging its croissant-meets doughnut nature. Press materials called them “a towering treat featuring a hybrid of a warm, flaky croissant and a hot, sweet donut, sprinkled with sugar and served with hot fudge and berry dipping sauces.” The item was priced at around $5.99 for a stack of four, or $7.99 for a tower of eight.
Jack in the Box’s rollout was greeted with less fanfare than Dunkin’s, and pretty good reviews.
The Impulsive Buy, while warning of the dangers of showering your environs with cinnamon sugar, gave them a rating of eight out of 10, calling them “wonderful” and a marked improvement from the chain’s previous warm desserts.
The Phoenix New Times also commented on the pastry’s massive cinnamon sugar content — “There was so much left weighing down the little bag after I finished eating that I thought there might be another doughnut hiding inside,” Lauren Saria wrote.
Saria also acknowledged their deliciousness: “I can tell you that they quite exceeded my expectations. They're fluffy and maybe even buttery inside with a pleasantly crispy outer shell. The cinnamon sugar makes them sweet but doesn't leave a horrible sugary coating on the inside of your mouth.”
While Dunkin’s launch of the Cronut knockoff triggered a minor media storm, mostly of publications making fun of how hard the chain was working to avoid acknowledging its New York antecedent, it fared worse in reviews.
“The croissant-flavored donut is exactly like every other Dunkin donut, but harder to chew,” NYU Local wrote, without any mention of the windowed box, in which it apparently wasn’t served.
“There is no fanfare involved with the croissant-flavored donut at any point in the process. Your treat is shoved into a bag, handed over to you for $2.50 and then you can freely spend the rest of the day by eating a hybrid donut, writing some notes about it, and then going back to bed, like we did.”
Snippet Studios gave it better marks, but didn’t tick the retrial box.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Croissant Donut as a unique substitute for my regular breakfast, but I’m not sure how soon I will be ordering it again,” wrote Tron3500. A major sticking point seemed to be the price.
Red Robin’s item was lambasted by the food blogs, with Eater calling them “the Cronut Kock-Off With the Lamest Name.” Grub Street warned that although the chain was avoiding litigation from Ansel by not using the trademarked Cronut name, it might run afoul with 20th Century Fox for using the Homer Simpson catchphrase “Doh!”
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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