connecticut – www.imperfectlypatricia.com

Searching for Connecticut’s Best Apple Cider Doughnuts

If you follow my food page, you saw that last fall I did a mini tour, searching my home state Connecticut to find the best apple cider doughnuts. Check out the places I have visited, the doughnuts I have tried, and read about my favorites!

Rogers Orchards

336 Long Bottom Road

Southington, CT 06489

Rogers Orchards was one of my first stops on my apple cider doughnut tour and also happened to be one of my favorites! They had two different varieties that I tried- apple cider and apple fritter. Both were great, but the apple cider doughnuts were amazing!

Blue Jay Orchards

125 Plumtrees Road

Bethel, CT 06801

Next stop on the tour was Blue Jay Orchards. These apple cider doughnuts were such a classic! Light, airy and fluffy!

Neils Donuts

83 N Turnpike Road

Wallingford, CT 06492

Neils Donuts is a must-stop spot for doughnuts in Connecticut, so of course I had to make a pit stop along the way to my next orchard. Unfortunately, they did not have an apple cider doughnut, but I picked up a few of their Apple Filled (so good) and raised cinnamon sugar (pictured below) to try!

West Egg Cafe

20 Sherman Hill Road

Woodbury, CT 06798

West Egg Cafe had amazing apple cider doughnuts which were so yummy and fresh! The doughnuts were adorable and everyone at the cafe was super friendly- I highly recommend stopping by, even if it is not for these doughnuts. (I really LOVED their selection of unique Benedicts- the Low Country was so tasty!)

Silverman’s Farm

451 Sport Hill Road

Easton, CT 06612

Silverman’s Farm has been a place I visited often during my childhood, so taking a bite of their apple cider doughnut brought be back to being a little kid again visiting their petting zoo! Their doughnut is the classic apple cider doughnut, but I LOVED their cider (I remember visiting the farm back when the cider was pressed right at the orchard). You can read more about the cider at Silverman’s Farm this fall when I complete my Apple Cider of Connecticut Tour.

Stew Leonard’s

100 Westport Ave

Norwalk, CT 06851

I can never complain about anything from Stews- it is always a W. These doughnuts were a little heavier than any of the others that I tried, but so delicious. Check out that sugar coating!!

Beardsley’s Cider Mill and Orchard

278 Leavenworth Road

Shelton, CT 06484

The apple cider doughnuts from Beardsley’s Cider Mill were much different than any other of the ones I tried on my tour. They tasted almost as if they had a green apple flavor!

Wright’s Orchard

271 S River Road

Tolland, CT 06084

Tip: Wright’s Orchard is cash only!

I was not expecting to find doughnuts at Wright’s Orchard and stumbled upon it by accident when visiting the area and looking for a place to pick apples. The doughnuts came in a bag with several, and were crunchy on the outside and soft inside with just the “wright” amount of cinnamon sugar!

Lewis Farms

384 Belleview Ave

Southington, CT 06489

Lewis Farm had a unique way to serve their apple cider doughnuts- in an apple cider donut sundae! Now say that 5 times fast!

Plasko’s Farm Creamery and Cafe

670 Daniels Farm Road

Trumbull, CT 06611

I have been to Plasko’s countless times for their ice cream, but was surprised when Craig Behun from @cticecreamtour messaged me to let me know that Plasko’s had apple cider doughnuts too! They were small in size, but mighty in taste and definitely were in my top picks of favorites that I had tried. These babies were super light and fluffy and sooo full of cinnamon-sugar! Plasko’s even had apple cider slushes to help wash it down!

BF Clyde’s Cider Mill

129 N Stonington Road

Mystic, CT 06355

You might already know that Clyde’s Cider Mill is the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States, but did you know they have apple cider doughnuts too? I cannot wait to visit Clyde’s again this fall for my Connecticut Apple Cider Tour! Make sure to follow my food page @trishxdish and let me know your favorite local spots for apple cider!

Midsize/Plus Size Target Haul

Look 1:

Women’s Paisley Print A-Line Pleated Skirt- A New Day in Black size XL

Look 2:

Women’s Pleated Skirt- A New Day in Green XL

Look 3:

Women’s Tie Waist Paperbag Pants- A New Day in Black size 18

Look 4:

Women’s High-Rise Tie Waist Straight Pants- A New Day in Rust size 18

Shoes:

Women’s Gemma Snake Print Pointed Toe Block Heeled Pumps- A New Day in Gray size 11 Currently Unavailable

The top in all: Women’s Short Sleeve T-Shirt- A New Day in Black size XL

Bite-Sized Vasilopita (Vasilopita Mini-Cupcakes)

It is almost New Year’s Eve!! Like many, I am looking forward to 2021 and what it may bring (and more importantly, the end of 2020). One Greek tradition on New Year’s Day is a Vasilopita.

Vasilopita is associated with the legend of Saint Basil and the Vasilopita is a New Year’s Day bread or cake where a coin is hidden inside. It is believed that whoever receives the piece with the coin inside will be blessed with good fortune for that year. Considering how 2020 has went, I am sure we are all hoping to receive the piece with that coin.

I have seen a few takes on the traditional Vasilopita and was inspired by 54thirty’s recent Instagram post where they made Vasilopita cookies. Here is my modern take on the traditional recipe.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature

1 1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 tablespoon orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking soda

powdered sugar (to sprinkle on top after cooking)

almonds (optional)

Other:

coin & aluminum foil

mini-cupcake liners & cupcake tray

Instructions:

Wash and dry your coin and cover in a small piece of aluminum foil. You will need this to add into one of the mini-cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cupcake liners in your tray to prepare.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy smooth consistency.

Add the vanilla extract, orange juice and orange zest. Beat all together until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat your eggs and then add them into the large bowl of wet mixture/batter. Beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, add your flour and baking powder together. Slowly add this into the wet mixture/batter. You will only want to beat until it is mixed together.

Pour your batter into the mini-cupcake liners. You will only fill them about 1/2 to 3/4 full. This is when you will add the coin to one of the cupcakes. Optional: If you would like, top each cupcake with an almond.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until you can poke them with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Allow them to cool and then sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

Lavender Pond Farm

Since my travel plans were cancelled for this year, I am hoping to visit as much as my home state as I can this summer. The first place on my list was Lavender Pond Farm in Killingworth- which is very close to the Clinton Outlets!

Social distancing was a breeze since the majority of the farm is outdoors, with exception of the gift shop (which they were amazing at limiting individuals inside). The farm included this adorable covered bridge pictured above, with a lavender “trolley” that brought you around the property and serene pond!

There were several different varieties of lavender to see (and smell), and many of them were for sale in the gift shop too!

After touring the fields, take a break to play a round with their giant outdoor chess board!

The gift shop included so many different products, from personal care/bath to lavender infused food products. I purchased some lavender spices and cannot wait to experiment with them soon!

Check out my Instagram page for more photos and videos of the field and our trip!

Greek-American Businesses in Connecticut

Happy Greek Independence Day! I am looking to create a list of services provided and businesses owned by Greek-Americans, here in my home state of Connecticut! More than ever, we need to support our community.

Are you a Greek-American business owner, tutor, artist, lawyer, hairdresser, artist, business/company/service, etc in Connecticut?

The list will be displayed online. If you would like to be included, please fill out the Google Form I have created by clicking the link below. If you know of anyone, please forward this link to them too! You can fill out as much as you would like, but the more you fill out, the more helpful it will be!

Link: bit.ly/CTGreekSurvey