Danbury Country Store, New Hampshire

Update Review, Summer 2020

Danbury Country Store.  A legit, old school, New England country store.  That I still have never visited, as, well, I live in San Francisco, and even when I visit my family in New Hampshire, they live 45 minutes away.  So I can't tell you about the actual store.

But I request their treats every time I visit now.  I first discovered them when they catered the breakfast spread for the bridesmaids in my little sister's wedding (which you can read about below), and since then, I constantly mention it to my mother, who, being a lovely mother, makes an epic trip to pick some up for me, and this year, she even had the freezer stocked full of their muffins before I arrived.

Why? Because Danbury Country Store makes some very, very good scones and muffins.  They aren't the absolute best I've ever had, but both fall solidly in my top 10.

Scones

Last time I wasn't particularly into the scone I tried (as a scone, I thought it would likely be good as shortcake biscuit), but my mom picked some up as they didn't have apple cinnamon muffins (the ones I told her were fantastic), and they had a cinnamon scone, so, she wanted to get *something* cinnamon.

I'm glad she did, as I ended up liking it quite a bit.  And it was entirely different.  I'd love to try more varieties of scones.

Cinnamon Chip Scone.

The style of this one was a triangle, rather the round one as before.  It was also more firm, less crumbly.  Really, an entirely different style.

I had the first one as dessert, warmed up, a la mode, and it worked very well that way.  Great texture, good cinnamon flavor, and nice tang.

I had another a few days later (after stashing in the freezer), and again warmed it up (wrap in foil, add a splash of water, throw in toaster oven, uncover at very end - it comes out perfectly moist and soft inside and crisp outside!), and this time paired it with whipped cream and fresh berries.  Sort of like a shortcake.  I again just adored it - lovely texture, nice cinnamon flavor, a lovely product.

I was very pleased, and glad my mom got it!  And I quickly requested more.  Sadly, they never had scones again when my mother visited.

Muffins

Danbury Country Store makes some of my favorite muffins on the planet.  I loved them before, they are definitely the reason I sent my mom to pick up goodies, and I was thrilled to see that they had not changed: muffins really just do not get better than this.  Perfect execution, on all of them.  Moist, well loaded with their mix-ins, and crispy tops that I adore.  So good.

French Toast.

A random pick from my mom, the French Toast.

This one reminded me of the apple cinnamon that I had loved so very much before.  Perfectly crispy top (studded with large pearl sugar!), yet amazingly moist inside.

French Toast: Cross Section.

And what was it like?  It tasted exactly like french toast!

Amazingly like french toast.  As in, yes, you feel like you are eating french toast, particularly if you slice off a piece as I did.  But it is a muffin.  It is uncanny.  Great cinnamon flavor, amazing moisture, even ... eggy batter taste.  Remarkable.

I was heating one up to have after lunch, as a dessert (since I assumed it would be very sweet), and it was not quite what I wanted for dessert, but I can't wait to have one in the morning, or with brunch, as it is just perfect for that.

French toast.  As a muffin.  Who knew.  I think I loved it.

Update Review: Of course I had the next one with my brunch the very next weekend (I popped extras in the freezer).  I decided to slice it up like french toast, and it was *perfect*.  The absolute perfect brunch item, no question.  Better when topped with a touch of syrup, or whipped cream, or butter, but none of that was actually necessary.  This quickly became my favorite of the selection of muffins this round, always as an ideal brunch.

Cranberry Orange.

The cranberry (orange? was it orange last time too? I'm not sure) had been a favorite (ok, second favorite) before, so I was eager to have it again.

This time however it was the middle of the summer, and I felt less inspired by it.  A lovely muffin, don't get me wrong, studded with large pearl sugar on the perfectly crispy top (my favorite!), moist inside, but, the tart juicy cranberries just weren't quite appropriate for the weather.  And cranberry orange is a very, well, "thanksgiving" flavor to me.  My least favorite of the lineup, but only due to seasonality.

Blueberry.

The last time I had the muffins, the blueberry was actually my least favorite.

Again, still, a great muffin, just, when you have all hits, one very good muffin still needs to come in last place.

I felt similarly this time, although it placed above the cranberry orange, due to seasonality.  My third pick of the bunch we tried this time.

It was still a very, very good blueberry muffin.  Again perfectly crispy top, I love the pearl sugar on it, and the muffin was extremely moist inside.  Loaded with blueberries, but not too many to take away structure of the muffin.  Best warmed, with butter, and fresh blueberries.

But still, compared to the french toast (!), not one I'd go running back for, unless I *wanted* a blueberry muffin.

Lemon Poppyseed.

And finally, another very well executed classic muffin.

I feel like a broken record, but, another perfectly crisp top, I adore the sweet pearl sugar on top, and beautifully moist inside.

Slight lemon flavor, not overwhelming, plenty of poppy seeds very well distributed.

Absolutely nothing to fault in execution here, great warmed up with butter (and a touch of jam!), but also good just as is.  When craving a lemon poppy muffin (which, to be honest, is rare for me, definitely not my go-to) this is just about as good as it gets.

My second pick this time around, after the amazing french toast, just ahead of the blueberry.

This place really knows how to make a muffin!

Chocolate Chip.

I love chocolate.  I love chocolate in the morning.  I always, literally always, have a piece of chocolate alongside my morning coffee.  So chocolate chips in muffins?  Entirely appropriate in my world.

But this wasn't a favorite.  I still loved the crisp top, the generous pearl sugar, and the fact that the chocolate chips were very well distributed throughout.  But the chips were small, not particularly interesting chocolate, and the base muffin flavor was kinda plain.

Nothing wrong with this muffin, but I didn't care for it very much, particularly compared to others.

Pastries / Donuts

Danbury Country Store also makes a few other pastries from time to time, but as I've never visited in person, I've never gotten to browse them.  If I had browsed perhaps I could have picked better, but I was not particularly thrilled with the one I did try.

Raspberry Braid.

I wanted something a bit more like dessert, and wasn't there to see them in person, but the idea of the raspberry braid appealed, so I had my mom grab me one.

I ... did not care for it really.  I mean, it was fine, but, the puff pastry was not particularly buttery nor layered and didn't seem house made (e.g. used store bought frozen pastry?) and it just had some raspberry goo inside.

Again, fine, nothing wrong, but, it tasted like something from any generic grocery store.

[ No Photo ]

Glazed raised donut

This was ... a fine donut.  A very classic donut, raised, glazed.  It was fluffy, it was decently glazed.  But just a classic donut.  The base had nothing particularly interesting about it, and I've grown more fond of having a buttermilk tang, or sweet potato base (like Johnny Doughnuts - oh soo good!).  But not too greasy, and really not too bad, just, a classic, well executed glazed raised donut.

Original Review, June 2016

Last summer, I visited New Hampshire to attend my little sister's wedding (Congrats, Elisabeth!), held on her own property.  As part of the festivities, my mother had breakfast platters arranged for us at the assorted sites the day of the wedding (where the bridesmaids and groomsmen were getting ready) and the day after (for the tear down and clean up crew).  The breakfast spreads were incredible, catered by the local Danbury Country Store.

I haven't ever visited the store myself, but, apparently it has been around since the 1800s, in some form or another (a general store, gas station, even a lodging house).  Now it has a general store with curated local goods and a deli.  I'm only familiar with the baked goods, always a favorite item for me.

Muffin and Donut Platter.

Both days the breakfast spread included platters of baked goods, fresh from the oven that morning.  The first morning, I was with all the bridesmaids.  Since all the ladies were trying to fit into their wedding dresses, most ignored the muffins.  And the amazing iced cinnamon buns.  Instead, they nibbled on some fresh fruit.  I couldn't believe it, particularly once I tasted a few items.  Let's just say, I didn't have their restraint.

The next day brought scones and donuts into the mix.  But now everyone was uh, a bit hungover, and they just wanted eggs for breakfast.  Let's just say there were plenty of baked goods around, and, you know me, I'm shameless, love baked goods, and am certainly not on a diet.

I was in my element, happy to pick up the slack and make sure all those amazing baked goods got eaten.  And, they did.  Many, many platters worth.  I regret nothing.

Muffins

I started with the fresh muffins, delivered both mornings.  None were labelled, which made this even more fun for me, since it was a guessing game.  I'm uh, extremely opinionated about my muffins, and I adored these.  Some of the best I've had, anywhere.

For me, a great muffin is one with a crispy top.  I don't know why I like them this way, but it is how I like them.  A muffin with consistent texture throughout is not the style I like.  Crispy top all the way.  But I want it moist and fluffy inside.  What can I say, I like what I like?  And Danbury Country Store muffins are MY style of muffin.

Cranberry Muffin.

I had no idea what flavor this was until I cut into it.  From the top, it looked similar to all the others.

The top was crispy, exactly how I love my muffins.  The inside was fluffy and moist, perfect.  The base flavor had a lovely tang to it.  Even as a plain muffin, I would have liked it.

But, it got better.  Studded throughout were cranberries.  Now, cranberry is not a flavor I ever gravitate towards.  I have nothing against cranberries, but, they are just never at the top of my list.  I would have never taken this muffin if I knew what flavor it was.  And, I would have missed out.  The cranberries provided lovely little bursts of flavor.

My second favorite muffin of the bunch, and I'd gladly have another.

[ In fact ... I did have another, the next day when a new batch was delivered.  I loved it just as much, and on that day, it was my favorite.  Again, I'd gladly have another! ]

Apple Cinnamon Muffin.

Another one I couldn't quite guess the flavor of.

It looked like it might be banana.  But it didn't taste that way.  I detected cinnamon.

A few bites in, I realized what it was: apple cinnamon.  Another one I wouldn't normally pick, but ended up adoring.

The top, perfectly crispy.  The inside, perfectly fluffy and moist.  Nailed it.

And the flavor was incredible.  Spiced perfectly, plenty of cinnamon, but not too much.  Bursts of apple.  Totally delicious.

It reminded me of coffee cake, perfect alongside a cup of coffee.  I loved this, and took an extra for breakfast the next day, which I enjoyed just as much.  My mother also had one of these, and adored the crispy top, and kept exclaiming how flavorful it was.  She was crazed with 1000 things on her mind for the wedding, and she took time to give me a review, unsolicited, which means that she too was really impressed!

My hands down favorite, and I stocked the freezer full with the leftovers.

Chocolate Chip Muffin.

I took this muffin, expecting a blueberry muffin, as I saw little dark spots.  Instead, it was ... chocolate chip!

It was absolutely loaded up with mini chocolate chips.  I appreciated the smaller chip size, as they didn't overwhelm the muffin.  The amount of chips was perfect too, I certainly never felt like I'd been shortchanged, but also it didn't feel too too chocolately for breakfast.  All in a nice balance.

The base flavor was also good, although it wasn't quite as moist as some of the others.  I shared this one with my chocolate loving little cousin, who eagerly devoured the whole thing before her mom saw.  Don't tell.

Blueberry Muffin.

I did also get to try a blueberry muffin the next day.  It had juicy blueberries throughout, but it ended up being my least favorite.  I'm not entirely sure why, as Ojan loved it, and commented himself, "wow, these really are good muffins".  For Ojan to offer up an opinion means it really must be good!

Carrot Raisin Muffin.

I also tried what turned out to be a carrot muffin.

It was a moist muffin, nicely spiced, with raisins.  Definitely good, but I'm never a carrot muffin sort of girl.  When I have moist, flavorful carrot in a baked good, I just want it to be carrot cake, topped with the requisite cream cheese frosting of course.

Buns

Iced Cinnamon Bun.

I thought the muffins were great, but then I tried a cinnamon bun.  OMG.

These were amazing, particularly when heated up in the toaster oven.

The dough was a sweet dough.  It was swirled with cinnamon.  Topped with creamy icing.

Simple, yes.  But amazing.  I wish I had a better way to describe these, as my basic description doesn't do them justice.  The sweetness of the dough was spot on.  The cinnamon was present but not dominating.  I adored the icing.  I just loved these.

I saved one of these for the next day as well, not really expecting it to hold up well, but, once I popped it in the toaster oven, it reheated like a champ.  Seriously as good as the first day.

I want more.  Now!

Scones

Blueberry Scone.

And finally, fresh blueberry scones, delivered on the second day.

The scones were a moist, cakey style, more like a biscuit.  I generally prefer a harder style, and want to have some cream alongside.    They were generously loaded with blueberries.

I think these would be great with some fresh fruit on top, with whipped cream, more like a fruit shortcake.  But as a standalone scone, they just weren't my style.