Cheesecake Factory At Home

Update Review, 2024

As I mentioned when I reviewed the classic Cheesecake Factory mini baguettes from their "At Home" product line, they also transform their signature brown wheat bread into dinner rolls, larger buns, and a sandwich loaf.  Although I didn't love the baguettes before, they were good for bakery bread, so I was curious to try something else.

Bakery Buns.

"Our Bakery Buns have a rich taste and soft texture with a wholesome oat topping that complements whatever recipe inspires you.  They’re sturdy enough to hold generous portions of your favorite flavors at the grill or in the kitchen."

I was really curious about these.  I like their brown bread, but it seems like it would overpower burgers, or pulled pork, or anything I'd normally put into it.    

The buns were about as expected.  Soft.  Moderately fresh.  Slightly sweet and malty taste.  Good scattering of oats on top.  But I really just wasn't sure how to use them. If I was one to eat deli meat turkey sandwiches, or grilled chicken, I could see it going well with either of those.  ***.

Original Review, February 2021

Perhaps you've been lamenting that can't go out to The Cheesecake Factory to enjoy their epic menu of #allTheThings.  Such is the COVID world.  But did you know that you can just go to your local grocery store and, most likely, get a bunch of their branded items?

"We are excited to be introducing The Cheesecake Factory At Home™ - a line of delicious products that can be enjoyed at home. Look for these exciting new products in select retailers near you!"

Is it the same as going to the restaurant with its 250 item long menu?  (Yes, really.). Clearly, no.  Most of these products aren't even replicas of actual things served at the restaurant, but, of course there are cheesecake options (whole cheesecakes, slices, or bites), and, probably the part of a Cheesecake Factory meal more people look forward to than the cheesecake even: the brown bread, along with other breads, ice cream, and, um, puddings.  A very random assortment of items, no actual entrees, nor even appetizers (I would have expected frozen appetizer line!), and, really, I love pudding, but ... that seemed so very random.

Note that this is entirely different from their cheesecake, cakes, and cupcakes available to foodservice distributors, which I've reviewed previously (along with a slew of desserts).

During the summer of 2020, while staying in rural New Hampshire with my family, I got a chance to try out some of these products.  I was pleasantly surprised by a few.

Bread

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” and new brioche hamburger buns– at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread. Our deliciously buttery and sweet gourmet Brioche and Wheat Brioche Hamburger Buns were made exclusively for you to enjoy at home."

Yup, breads.  The famous brown bread is available in 3 forms (dinner rolls, mini baguettes, and sandwich loaf), and they also offer up two styles of burger buns.   I found these in the bakery section of my grocery store, not frozen.

Brown Bread Mini Baguettes.

"The Cheesecake Factory® is the fantastical food experience that is absolutely certain to satisfy. Now you can enjoy our famous “brown bread” – at home. Loved around the world, our brown bread baguette is a Cheesecake Factory signature taste – now available to enjoy at home in Mini Baguettes, Dinner Rolls and Sandwich Bread."

I opted for the mini baguettes as my form factor of choice.

I tried it many different ways, and always liked it, but never loved it, not quite as much as I wanted.

I found that I certainly preferred it slightly warm, not crispy, so I didn't just heat it at 350* for 5 minutes as instructed, but rather, wrapped it in foil so it would warm but not crisp.

It was ok with butter, the slight sweetness of the bread made it a touch interesting, but it didn't wow me.  I used honey butter the next day, and again, it was good, but not great.

It was better dunked in heavier sauces, it went great with Trader Joe's excellent tomato sauce found in the frozen stuffed shells, but in that case, it was just a vessel for the delicious sauce.  I think it could go well with pesto or chimichurri too.

The winner though?  No question, dunking it in anchovy oil, e.g. the oil left behind in a tin of anchovies packed in oil.  I loved that pairing!

This was a good packaged bread product, but, I wouldn't get it again.  Low ***.

Ice Cream

"Cheesecake lovers no longer need to choose between a slice and a scoop; now you can have both in one delicious dessert! Our new Ice Cream line features seven celebratory flavors with real cheesecake ingredients incorporated right into the mix."

While *most* desserts I do believe get tremendously better a la mode, cheesecake is one I've never considered that way really (adding whipped cream, of course).  I did recently discover that I do love carrot cake warmed up and paired with ice cream (even when it has tons of cream cheese frosting, yes!), so maybe ...

Nor have I ever really felt the question of "cheesecake or ice cream", or "slice or scoop" as they put it.  Both are great desserts, but rarely ones that come up as a question like that.  Anyway.  Cheesecake Factory has branched into ice cream, as a retail product, readily found around grocery stores nationwide.

As an ice cream girl, who consumes ice cream at least once per day, of course I needed to check it out.  They currently offer 7 flavors: original, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, cookies & cream, birthday cake, and key lime.  Basically, your basic ice cream flavors (vanilla, choc, strawberry, cookies & cream), the top selling trends (salted caramel, birthday cake), and, one wildcard (key lime).  I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any that were actually inspired by their actual cheesecakes offered at the restaurant ... at least a red velvet?  All feature the same base ice cream featuring cream cheese and sour cream, and mostly vary just by what is swirled in.

Original.

"Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls."

"This one’s a classic! Our Premium Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Signature Cream Cheese Blend, Sour Cream and Graham Swirls is the perfect scoop of creamy cheesecake goodness in a frozen treat you’ve been waiting for!"

I started with the basic "Original" flavor, their signature cheesecake, as an ice cream, with graham swirls.

My first impression was quite positive: it was indeed true to name - it tasted like cheesecake, a very classic, sour cream forward, tangy cheesecake.  It does have both sour cream and cream cheese in it  Would you put it on top of a slice of pecan pie?  Nah, I think it would clash.  But I immediately wanted to throw some on top of a berry crisp.  It was very very rich however.

The texture/consistency was fine, not super creamy, but not bad.  The style that freezes quite hard, and definitely needs to soften before serving.

The graham swirl worried me - I don't really care for graham, but also, so often this kind of element is gritty or mushy and somewhat "ruins" a product for me.  I didn't see much on top, but once I dug in ...

Original: The Swirl.

It was far more than a "swirl".  Huge, huge chunks of the graham cracker substance.

It was rock solid, so nearly impossible to just get a little, once you had a big chunk, you were getting a HUGE chunk.  On the plus side, it was not mushy nor gritty, and did add a nice crunchy texture sorta.  But I don't really like graham that much, so, the flavor wasn't one I really wanted.

Overall, I found myself wanting to like this more than I did.  It was so intense in its cheesecake nature, which would be great, but ... I never seemed to actually *want* cheesecake ice cream.  I need to be in the mood for cheesecake, and use ice cream as a pairing usually, and I just never felt the urge to pull this pint out.  That said, if you really like cheesecake, and like the sound of a cheesecake ice cream, I think it really was quite true to name.  **+.

Decadent Desserts (aka Pudding)

Oh, pudding.  Another of my favorite desserts.  And one so very underrated.  I was pleased to see Cheesecake Factory, fairly randomly, launched a premium pudding line, dubbed "Decadent Desserts" (which, is fairly amusing, because pudding is just not nearly as decadent as their namesake item ...).

I had pretty low expectations thought - why pudding? They don't have pudding on the menu at restaurants, it has nothing to do with cheesecake, it just seemed ... random.  And honestly, most store brand pudding, shelf-stable or refrigerated, ready-to-eat or make at home, etc is just, well, not very good. But the Cheesecake Factory at Home Pudding?  Well, it is remarkably good.  

The puddings are considerably more "real" than those on the shelves next to it, like Snack Pack, Jello, etc, and as such, carry a much higher calorie/fat/sugar content (e.g. 290 calories per cup instead of 100 or less in Snack Pack or only 60 in Jello, with 12 grams of fat instead of 3 g or 1 g, respectively, and a whopping 39 grams of sugar instead of ~10 in Snack Pack or ~15 in Jello.  Or really,  0 as most of theirs are sugar free).  Even the Jello brand "Decadent" line is <100 calories each.  Of course, this is just due to what is in it - whole milk and cream are the first two ingredients in Cheesecake Factory line, instead of water (!) and nonfat milk in a Snack Pack, or skim milk and water in Jello brand.  It really is pudding.  And you can tell.

The puddings come in 4 flavors: Vanilla Fudge Duet (vanilla bean pudding with dark chocolate sauce), Chocolate Black-Out (Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce), Cake Batter Strawberry Royale (cake batter "inspired" pudding with sweet strawberry puree), and Salted Caramel Delight (salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce).

They all sounded pretty good to me, besides perhaps the cake batter strawberry (although honestly, I'd try any!), which was fine, as my local Hannaford (the only place that had them) didn't stock that variety anyway.

Salted Caramel Delight Packaging.

The puddings come as 2-packs (rather than 4-6 like other brands), and are found in the refrigerated section.  They must stay refrigerated.  Mine had about a month until the expiration date.

Salted Caramel Delight.

"Creamy salted caramel pudding over rich caramel sauce."

"Delightfully decadent! Our creamy salted caramel pudding with rich caramel sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

I started with the salted caramel.  One bite in and I was amazed.  It was *good*.  Very good.

The pudding was very creamy, and, unlike all other brands ... didn't taste anything like chemicals.  It had no fake flavor to it at all.  It didn't taste like salted caramel, but rather, butterscotch, and that did not bother me one bit (I adore butterscotch pudding, probably my favorite flavor).  It tasted homemade, really.  It had a depth to it "like grandmas", honestly.  The pudding layer was fairly wholesome, or at least, not loaded with crazy, just whole milk, cream, sugar, corn starch, salt, "natural and artificial color", and fruit juice (for color?).

It was fabulous as butterscotch pudding, although I wanted some whipped cream to put on top.  I also thought immediately that it would go great perhaps with some caramelized bananas and a shortbread crumble.  But, the pudding alone, or pudding and whip, was plenty satisfying.

I dug down to reach the sauce in the bottom, which was also supposed to be salted caramel.  It indeed tasted more like caramel, although I still tasted no salt, and it was a nice sauce.  The consistency was great - not thin, not too thick, easy to swirl in.  There was plenty of it.  And it was *very* sweet.  Yes, of course I tried just a spoonful of it alone, and that was way too much.  But some swirled in?  Great.  The salted caramel is made from corn syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, nonfat milk, buttermilk, etc, basically, what you'd expect to find in caramel sauce.

I was really quite pleased with my cup, although I found it far better to put into a bigger bowl, so I could add whipped cream (and crumble or shortbread biscuits!), and so I could mix in the caramel sauce.  It was a bit hard to get balanced bites eating out of the cup.  I was curious what it would be like to actually just mix it all up, mixing in all the sauce, sorta like fruit on the bottom yogurt, but, I didn't want to ruin it.  That pudding layer was just too good.

I would get this again in a heartbeat, and I think it truly was as good as homemade.  Shocked, really. ****.

I immediately updated my grocery shopping list to include trying a new flavor.

Chocolate Black-Out.

"Rich Belgian chocolate pudding over dark chocolate fudge sauce."

"A chocolate lover’s dream! Our rich Belgian chocolate pudding with dark chocolate fudge sauce is inspired by The Cheesecake Factory’s deliciously decadent desserts."

Next up, the chocolate chocolate one.  Chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge sauce.

This one was less successful for me.

The pudding was a very dark, very rich looking color, but the flavor wasn't particularly strong.  It was sorta creamy, but a bit grainy.  Now, granted, I had this just a few days after having a fairly mind blowing chocolate mousse, so I had that in mind, but this just wasn't anything special.  It seemed no better, no worse, than any packaged pudding on the market (although, like the salted caramel version, was made with real ingredients - whole milk, sugar, cream, whole eggs, etc).  I didn't really want it.

But the dark chocolate fudge sauce?  That was delicious.  And although technically a "sauce", it was more of a super chocolate pudding-sauce, really creamy, excellent flavor.  I tried mixing some in to the pudding to make the pudding shine more, but really, I just wanted the sauce.

I "salvaged" the second cup by just giving my dad the pudding layer, and keeping the sauce layer, adding whipped cream and brownie bits, and truly loved it.  ** pudding, **** sauce.

I wouldn't get this again obviously, as the chocolate pudding was just meh, but it made me excited to try the Vanilla Fudge Duet, featuring the same fudge sauce layer.

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Harry & David

Update Review

I had a big realization about Moose Munch, the classic Harry & David caramel and chocolate popcorn and nuts mix, which I've reviewed several times before (below).

You know when you were a child, and loved something super sweet, and adults made dramatic statements like, "it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about that"?  I never knew what they meant, and just rolled my eyes dramatically back ... until I had Moose Munch.  The caramel covered pieces in this do literally make my teeth hurt if I have more than a few.  I enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but they are just too much.  This mix really needs some plain pieces mixed in.  *** for those pieces, just, too much.  The dark chocolate coated pieces though I do truly love (****) and same with the very candied nuts (****), but those caramel pieces ... just, too much, even for me.  ***+ overall, brought down by the caramel pieces.

Iced Gingerbread.

"Our Gingerbread Moose Munch follows our classic Caramel Moose Munch, then we had bits of Gingerbread cookie pieces to create this delicious holiday treat. We add a white chocolate drizzle to remind you of the flavor of the royal icing piping."

Danger.  Danger, danger, danger.  *That* is what the warning label on this should read.  Because, zomg, danger.

I would have never sought this flavor out, not being all that excited about gingerbread, but my sister gave it to me for Christmas.  I'm so very glad she did.  But, um, oops.  Danger.

The base is the standard totally addicting and way way way too sweet caramel Moose Munch.  It is the type of caramel corn that even makes your teeth hurt from all the sugar.  And, the kind, that at least I cannot stop eating.  So, super decadent base, but then they drizzle it with sweet and creamy white chocolate, and add in bits of gingerbread cookies.  The cookies provide occasional pops of molasses flavor, the white chocolate makes it even sweeter, and it turns out even more impossible to stop devouring than the original.  I liked the assorted size clusters, some just popcorn, others with all the goodies in them.  Like the original Moose Munch, it has bits of nuts (almonds, cashews) in there too, mostly entirely candied, that make you say, "hey look, I'm being responsible, eating protein too!".

I adored this, and finished the bag, that is supposed to be something like 16 servings, in, let's just say, fewer than 16 servings.  I'd gleefully get it again.

****+.

Update Reviews, Holidays 2020-2021

Since I've reviewed Harry & David many times before, I'll leave you to read my previous reviews for general info about the brand.  This year, while I got to try a few good chocolate products, sadly, no signature Moose Munch was delivered alongside, and I missed my favorite Harry & David treat.

Truffles

Milk Chocolate Truffle.

"When it comes to memorable treats, our rich chocolate truffles represent the top tier of sweet decadence. The silky smooth center of each truffle is cloaked in a layer of chocolate that melts in the mouth with a flavor that is timeless and delicious."

Milk Chocolate
Such a rich truffle!!! A delicious truffle, but so very rich. And so very creamy. And a lovely milk chocolate flavor. Really, this was a nice product. It was almost like a soft fudge, or perhaps a slightly more solid center of a chocolate lava cake.

The shell was not what I anticipated - I expected a snappy chocolate shell, this was soft, and not that distinct from the inside. But all so good.  ****.

Milk Chocolate Mint
The mint one was even better. Same rich base, creamy, luxurious, fudge like, this time with a lovely mint backdrop. The mint was powerful but not overwhelming, and it was truly just delicious. ****+.

Pretzels

"Our premium gourmet pretzels come in an array of flavors including perennial favorites and special, seasonal flavors. Choose from yogurt-covered pretzels, peanut butter pretzels, our own delectable gourmet chocolate pretzels, and more. "

Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzel Twists.

Since these were part of a gift box, I didn't get to pick the variety, so sadly they were the kind I'd probably pick last: milk chocolate. Not that there is anything *wrong* with milk chocolate, but, with options like peanut butter milk chocolate and even dark chocolate, they seem like last place.
They were fine. Crispy pretzels, well coated in decent enough milk chocolate. Nothing particularly notable about them in any way, positive or negative.

I enjoyed them as a little treat, but I'd still like to try the other varieties more. ***.

Update Review: Holiday Season 2018-2019

Another year, more gift boxes from Harry & David (previous reviews here).

This year, along with more and more Moose Munch (yes!), I got to try a few chocolate items, and finally, the signature, famous pears.

The Moose Munch remains my favorite.

Chocolates / Truffles

"Expertly crafted in our own candy kitchen using a proprietary blend of chocolate, our truffles are a chocolate lover’s dream."

Milk Chocolate / Coffee / Cherry Truffles (front row)
Raspberry (back row). 

"There's nothing quite like biting into the creamy center of a premium quality gourmet chocolate truffle. We've been using our signature truffle recipe for over 30 years, and it hasn't changed for a reason. Made in our candy kitchen in Southern Oregon using a proprietary blend of chocolate, these exquisite treats come in an array of flavors, like milk chocolate, white coffee, and dark chocolate cherry. Timeless and delicious, these silky truffles are a chocolate lover's dream."

This box is their Signature Assortment, with one each of milk chocolate, white chocolate coffee, dark chocolate cherry, all dark chocolate, dark chocolate raspberry, and milk chocolate almond.

I tried the "Cherry" first, hoping it was going to have a juicy cherry inside, but alas, it was just a dark chocolate shell, drizzled with red white chocolate, with a mildly cherry flavored dark chocolate ganache inside.

The ganache was smooth, the entire thing was fine, but the cherry flavor wasn't that pronounced, and the dark chocolate shell didn't seem particularly high quality. ***.

Milk Chocolate Almond.

The milk chocolate almond was a lovely piece.

The exterior shell was thick, soft, creamy milk chocolate, with a few bits of almond stuck on.  This was good, but it was the filling that was great.  Such smooth rich ganache, with a slight subtle flavor to it (was it almond accented?) that I found really pleasing.

I really quite enjoyed, and savored, this piece. ***+.

Peppermint Bark: Top View.

"Dark chocolate, white chocolate, and candy canes collide in this legendary peppermint treat."

The peppermint in the peppermint bark comes solely in the form of crushed candy canes, covering the entire top of the confection.  I did not detect any peppermint flavor in either of the chocolate layers, only the topping.

The mint was intense though, but the flavor not any more interesting than your standard candy cane. ***.

Peppermint Bark: Side View.

  "Creamy white chocolate layered over rich dark chocolate and topped with crushed peppermint candy is a delightful old-fashioned sweet indulgence. This will quickly become a favorite among candy gifts."

From the side you can see the other components, the dark and white chocolate.  Both were fine, smooth, creamy.  I wanted to taste more dark chocolate however, I found the amount at the base fairly minimal, and not as ... chocolatey as I wished.

So overall, a fairly boring peppermint bark for me really, the mint just candy canes, the chocolate didn't quite deliver either.  But non-offensive.

Fruit

Royal Riviera™ Pears.

"The pears that started it all. Our founders, Harry and David, called these pears "so big and juicy, you eat them with a spoon®." That was 80 years ago, when the brothers started selling Southern Oregon-grown Royal Riviera® Pears as gourmet gifts. Royal Riviera® Pears are delicate and require warm days and cool nights to grow, making Southern Oregon ideal for cultivating this famous fruit. The sweet flavor, buttery texture, and extreme juiciness of these pears are what make them so delicious. Every one is handpicked and packed to arrive at your door in perfect condition.

It's a time-honored tradition for families to decide who gets to enjoy the gold-wrapped pear when they receive a box of our famous fruit."

I finally got a chance to try the very famous pears, even though, um, pears were not exciting to me in any way.

Every box of Harry & David pears comes with a single pear wrapped in gold foil.  It is their signature thing.  It creates an element of uniqueness of that one pear.  Who gets it?  Of course I did.

Magical Gold Pear?

"Expertly grown and handpicked, these premium pears have a soft, buttery flesh that's so sweet, you might want to save them for dessert."

I unwrapped my gold fruit.  It ... looked like a pear.  It looked just like any other pear.

It tasted ... like a pear.  Like any old pear.  It was a bit beat up, which certainly didn't help make it seem special.  It was a bit mushy.

Sorry, this pear was not magical to me in any way.  I'll stick with the Moose Munch. ***.

Moose Munch

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate (January 2019).

A year later, it was time for another gift basket from Harry & David, and this time, I knew I wanted to snatch up the Moose Munch.  Again we had the same milk chocolate variety as the year before.

I'll just warn you now.  This stuff is dangerous.  While the caramel bits are just *too* sweet to eat by more than one handful at a time, I found it way too easy (as in, oops, it happened) to eat every single piece of chocolate coated popcorn and every single candied nut in a single sitting.  Note that this bag was listed as 7 servings, each fairly indulgent.  Ooops.

But I really love the milk chocolate coated pieces.  The milk chocolate is creamy and smooth, a really good quality chocolate.  And the nuts, while not many in the bag, just kept me hunting for more.  I appreciated that there were almonds and cashews in here, not just standard peanuts.  Some of the nuts were caramelized, some chocolate coated, some on their own, others attached in clusters.  I sought them all out, just like when eating a bag of Chex mix, when you decide you want all of one particular item.  That was me and these nuts, and, the chocolate coated pieces.

The caramel pieces were good to sneak a few of in alongside my coveted items, but, once the other things were gone, I was left with a bag of seriously rich, seriously sweet, seriously indulgent popcorn that was just a bit too much to handle.  ***+.

Original Review, Holidays 2017-2018

Harry & David is a "gourmet gift" producer, whose products are generally sold via mail order or online, although they also have a handful of retail stores.  They mostly sell gift baskets, fruits, and chocolates.  Not exactly things I'm generally in the market for, yet sometime show up on my doorstep.

Their signature item is "Moose Munch" popcorn.  

"Moose Munch® Popcorn is not your average caramel popcorn. We pay attention to every single detail of our secret recipe. Right down to the way the popcorn looks and sticks together. We make over five million pounds a year. "

Now, 5 million pounds of anything is a lot, but particularly of a lightweight item!  Moose Munch® comes in a zillion flavors, like simple milk or dark chocolate, exotic banana coconut and apricot mango, and even some sugar free versions.  A flavor for everyone.

Harry & David leads the gift basket industry, so every year, I get to try various products when others bring in their gift basket discards to the office (one man's trash is ... my treasure!).  I often fail to write them up usually, as the products are usually already open, or I just grab a snack as I run between meetings.

But I finally got to try the coveted "Mouse Munch", thus, a proper review is in order.

Moose Munch

"Inspired by the Pacific Northwest, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is the anytime snack that’s almost too good to share. Carefully made in small batches in our own candy kitchen using real butter, creamy caramel, and crunchy nuts, it took over 160 tries to perfect our special recipe. Add our proprietary blend of chocolate to the mix and you have a snack made in heaven. Enjoy handful after handful during an evening in, or take along for an on-the-go boost of energy when you’re out on your next adventure. 

While you’ll want to keep it all for yourself, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is a great snack to share with a buddy, and it makes a delicious gift for fans of chocolate-covered popcorn and caramel popcorn alike. And with a wide array of flavors to choose from, there’s plenty to go around. Chocolate-lovers will rejoice over the many milk, dark, and white chocolate-covered varieties, while other snackers will love inventive flavors like peanut butter, orange crème, cherry vanilla, and more. There are even a fat-free and sugar-free versions."

Moose Munch is not just a popcorn.  Harry & David have build an entire product range around it.  Yes, you can get the popcorn in a variety of flavors, you can get it as part of many different gift packs, etc, but they have also turned it into cheesecake, and even flavored coffee, along with assorted Moose Munch branded gear, featuring the signature moose head (his name is Jasper, apparently). 

Interesting ...

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate. (December 2017)

"Our milk chocolate Moose Munch® Gourmet Popcorn is the perfect mix of sweet milk chocolate, buttery caramel, and crunchy nuts."

"Popcorn, almonds, and cashews covered in caramel and milk chocolate."

Given my love for popcorn, and caramel corn in particular, it is no surprise that I was excited to try Harry & David's signature "Moose Munch".  The standard Moose Munch is just caramel corn with candied nuts, but I tried the milk chocolate version, with milk chocolate covered pieces in the mix as well.

It was certainly decadent caramel corn.  No piece was left uncoated, no piece even moderately coated, each and every piece was intensely sweet.  I can't imagine eating just a bag of this caramel corn actually, it was just too much.  Good, but, wow, it needed some less coated pieces in order to temper it.

The milk chocolate pieces were great though.  Good quality chocolate, and again, really well coated.  The chocolate did help counter the sweet caramel pieces.

I found myself seeking out more and more of the chocolate pieces, but there were substantially fewer of them than the caramel ones.

The candied nuts were good for a bit of crunch now and then, but, again, there weren't many of them.

Overall, I enjoyed it along side a cup of bitter coffee, but, I think it would be better with some more plain pieces in the mix. ***+.

Moose Munch® Milk Chocolate Bar (August 2014).

"Moose Munch bars are crafted from a rich, smooth fudgy center, plus their signature snake - fluffy white popcorn, buttery caramel and crisp nuts all dipped in decadent milk chocolate."

"Signature snake"?  I do not know this term, but it is on all of their marketing, so I don't think it is a typo.

Cross section.

This one deserves a peak inside.

Every bite was loaded up with goodies: popcorn, nuts, caramel.  The caramel was sweet and very creamy, it almost tasted like really smooth peanut butter at times.  The nuts added a great crunch, and the popcorn ... was, well, popcorn inside my chocolate, a bit strange, but, it worked better than I expected.  It was much better than popcorn inside of other items, like inside the Circus Cookie from Goody Goodie, although it was still a bit strange to have a soft bite inside the bar.  The milk chocolate was smooth and creamy.

Overall, pretty tasty, a bunch of ingredients you don't necessarily expect together, but, I liked it.  The tasting club didn't get to try this one! ***+.

Other Treats

While Moose Munch is Harry & David's signature item, they carry a vast array of products, ranging from fresh fruit, to cheesecakes, and everything in-between.

Peppermint Tree Shaped Yogurt Pretzels  (January 2019).

"The festive meter instantly rises when this pretzel-packed bounty shows up. Premium, yogurt-covered pretzels in the shapes of Christmas trees abound. Crushed peppermint pieces have been sprinkled on the trees for added effect—and amazing flavor."

I tried these at a time when I was really on a yogurt (or white chocolate) pretzel kick.  I was randomly really loving nearly every coated pretzel I put in my mouth.  Crunchy, salty, creamy, sweet ... just loving them.  I'll admit they were often a morning indulgence alongside a cup of coffee.

So I was eager to try these minty trees when a co-worker gave up their Harry & David bounty.  First thing I grabbed.

However they were ... boring?

The coating was flavorless, slightly sweet, but mostly just waxy.  The pretzels themselves not particularly compelling either - slightly stale tasting, even though this was a fresh bag of snacks, opened right then, not old in any way.  The crushed peppermint was basically the only interesting part.

Sad, I thought I was not discriminating in my coated pretzel love at the time, but, it turns out, these were just too mediocre to be excited about. ***.

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The Jelly Donut

Update Reviews, 2023-2024

If you mention The Jelly Donut to someone, chances are, if they have visited, that they'll immediately tell you about how friendly the store owners are, how they always get a few extra donut holes thrown in their bag, and even launch into stories about forgetting to have cash (they don't take cards) and getting their donuts for free, trusted to come back and pay another time.  Everyone seems to have stories of kindness on the owner's parts, and, of adoring the donuts.  The donuts are also ridiculously well priced, regular donuts are still only $1.25, crullers are $1.75, bars or jelly filled are $2, filled bars are $2.25, and fritters or cinnamonr olls are $2.50.  $13 for a dozen.

I didn't have any donuts from The Jelly Donut for 5 years, but rediscovered them when we started back up a donut rotation in my office in 2023, and one member of the rotation brought in their goods several times.

May 2023 

Incredible Donuts.

The Jelly Donut offers all the classic styles of donuts: raised, cake, filled, old fashioned, plus specialities like fritters, cinnamon rolls, and french crullers.  One thing that sets them apart from other donut shops is the variety of toppings they offer, e.g. not just basic sugar/glazed/iced, and variety of fillings for the signature jelly donuts.  They don't go in the trendy direction, or decadent, no ube/taro/pandan, no donuts with candy all over them, etc, but, offer up some unique, generally fruity, options.

My co-worker brought in a box loaded with goodies, of all different styles.  I still can't get over how incredibly good these donuts all were.  And yes, I tried many.  I enjoyed the filled donuts, really liked the fritters, and loved the old fashioned and crullers.

Filled Donuts.

The filled donuts are obviously their namesakes, but don't just expect standard berry goo inside.  Yes, they do have raspberry filled, but they also fill them with custard, lemon, apple pie, pineapple, mango, guava, and more.  Filled donuts are available glazed or sugar coated as well, and all are very, very generously filled, the donuts are sliced in half and filled, rather than just injected, so they are loaded.

I tried a little of the lemon filled one, just to try it as I don't generally care for lemon desserts, and enjoyed it more than most, not too tangy.  ***+.

Apple Pie Filling!

Next I went for the apple pie donut.  

This one was loaded full of apple pie filling, with nicely diced apples, well spiced, a little goo.  The apples still had a bit of bite to them, which I liked.  A great donut for "have your pie and donut too".  Wonderful warmed up with a bit of vanilla ice cream stuffed inside as well.  It was very good, but not as exceptional as some of the others.  ***+.   My 6th overall pick of the day.

Pineapple Filled.

Next I went for another fruity one, that I think was pineapple filled?  Super fruity and sweet, and quality filling.  Light fluffy donut.  Unique, and quite tasty, albeit a sweet choice, particularly with the glaze.  ****.  My 3rd pick of the day.

Boston Cream.

Chocolate glazed and bavarian cream filled was next, known in my world as "Boston Cream", and this was an excellent version.  Very rich, smooth, creamy, vanilla pudding inside, light fluffy donut, quality darker chocolate glaze.  I'm not wild about Boston Cream donuts in general, but this pudding inside was definitely top notch.  ***+.  Fifth pick overall.

Strawberry Glazed Old Fashioned.

Moving on to old fashioned donuts, again, Jelly Donut offers a slew of glazes on them.  I took a hunk of the pink topped one as it looked the most novel, and immediately went back for the rest.  Wow, this was a fantastic donut!

The base was far above average for a old fashioned.  I loved the texture, moist inside, but crisp outside.  Loved it.  Even without the glaze, this would be a **** for me, maybe more.  But that glaze?  What a flavor powerhouse!  It was so intensely fruity.  Truly wonderful.  It took this donut into near perfect ***** territory, but I'll stick with ****+ for now.  But, great texture, fantastic glaze, one of the best old fashioned donuts I've had.  My favorite of the day.

Strawberry Glazed Old Fashioned.

When it was donut day again a few weeks later, I immediately went straight for the raspberry glazed old fashioned again (as there were no filled donuts nor fritters available).  I again loved it.  Such a great crust/slightly crisp edge, very fruity (and very sweet!) generous glaze.  This is the perfect donut to have alongside a black coffee, and even better if you dunk it in.  Love it.  ****+.

Maple Glazed Old Fashioned.

After the success of the strawberry glazed old fashioned, I went back for another, this time, maple glazed.  The base was equally good, and the maple flavor was more standard, very sweet.  A good old fashioned, for sure, but I wasn't as in to the sweet maple glaze.  ***+.  Probably my least favorite of the bunch I tried, but it was still a perfectly good donut.

Vanilla Glazed Cruller.

A slightly rare style of donut around SF, The Jelly Donut specializes in French crullers as well.  Like most of the styles of donuts, The Jelly Donut offers up a variety of glazes for these, such as chocolate, maple, regular, vanilla, etc.  This one was vanilla glazed, rather than just regular glazed.

The donut base was light and airy, slightly eggy, quality pâte à choux.  The glaze was sweet and was somewhat more vanilla-like than the regular glazed donuts.  A really nice lighter offering, and given the plethora of donuts I was sampling, I appreciated the less dense donut.  My forth pick overall. ***+.

The fact that The Jelly Donut makes such excellent raised donuts, and old fashioned, AND crullers is really notable, as they are a made with different techniques, and they seem to have mastered them all.

Crumbed Apple Fritter.

Like most donut shops, the fritters are massive - this is less than half of one.  Easily 4x the size of a regular donut.  And like most donut shops, The Jelly Donut offers a glazed version, but also, a sugar coated one, and this, the crumbed fritter.  I've never seen that before.

It was an excellent fritter.  Very moist, doughy, good cinnamon flavor, chunks of apple.  The crumb coating was actually great - it made it not as sweet as a standard glazed fritter, and reminded me a bit of a crumble topped apple pie.  Definitely a winning fritter.  ****.  My second pick of the day.

Glazed Apple Fritter.

I didn't try it originally, but when there were still so many donuts left midway through the day ... I couldn't resist trying the more common glazed fritter too.

It was much like the crumb coated one, moist inside, little bits of apple, good cinnamon flavor, lightly crisp outside, but, coated in lots of glaze, which made it even crispier, and considerably sweeter.  I found that I preferred the crumbed one as it was less sweet, but once I warmed this up and served with vanilla ice cream to tamper the sweetness, I enjoyed it nearly as much.  ***+, tied for 3rd place.

January 2024

A few months later, the Jelly Donut was back on the rotation.

Assorted Donuts.

There were no crullers nor old fashioneds in this mix, but we had plenty of raised and filled, along with some cake donuts.  I of course tried several.

I first tried a bite crumbled cake donut right on top here, after someone else cut into it, and was impressed with how moist it was.  Next time, I'll try more of a cake donut ... ***+.

Strawberry Iced Cake.

And by next time, I mean .... about 4 hours later.  I don't generally go for cake donuts, but I did try a bit of the strawberry iced one, after remembering how much I liked the strawberry iced old fashioned, and seeing these still untouched.  The icing was thick, sweet, fruity and enjoyable.  The cake base was better than most, quite moist, but it did remind me that I just generally don't prefer cake donuts.  ***.

Mango Filled.

For my first donut though, I went right for the filled one that someone else had cut in half.  I remembered how glorious Jelly Donut's filled donuts were before, and this one looked like it was going to have an interesting filling.

This was just as glorious as I wanted it to be.  The donut itself was lofty, light, airy, not too fried nor greasy tasting.  Excellent raised donut, well glazed.  The donut itself was far above average, ****.

But the filling.  <3.  I believe this was the mango filled.  It had plenty of filling (even if it doesn't look that way here).  It was sweet, fruity, and tropical.  Fantastic.  I'd love to just buy this filling to use as a spread on toast even.  So good.  ***** filling.

Overall, one of the best I've had from Jelly Donut, ****+.

Classic Raspberry Jelly Filled Glazed.

After the joy of the mango filled, I went for the more standard jelly donut that you'll find at donut shops everywhere: raspberry jelly filled.

To be honest, it was quite a letdown.  The donut seemed less lofty, although it was still very fresh tasting and well glazed.  The raspberry jelly filling was fairly average.  Sweet, fruity, not totally goo-like, but, not particularly special at all.  If I hadn't just had the previous donut, I'd say it was a very good filled jelly donut, but after the previous, it really was just a downgrade.

***+, because it still was a touch above generic donut shop average.

Blueberry Iced Raised.

Another great fluffy raised donut.  Sweet fruity icing.  I didn't necessarily taste much blueberry, but, it was very good. ****.

Apple Pie Filled.

I was late to the office on this donut day, and thus, the only filled donut left was the apple pie one.  I hadn't loved it before, but, it was still a donut from The Jelly Donut, and it was still a filled one, so I snagged it not too unhappily.

I still wasn't in love with the apple filling - I appreciated that the apples weren't mushy, and the spicing was too aggressive, but, compared to other filled flavors from The Jelly Donut, or compared to actual apple pie with slices or bigger hunks of apple, it just didn't measure up.  Fine, nothing wrong with it, but it certainly didn't shine.

The donut however did.  Again, just so fresh, so lofty, great glaze.  I adore these base donuts!  **** donut, *** filling, ***+ overall.

October 2024

Another week, another round of donuts, and as always I was thrilled to see they came from The Jelly Donut.

Mango Filled.

The first one I grabbed was a raised, glazed, split in half, mango compote filled one.  I remembered this from a previous encounter, and it was my top pick.

The donut itself was wonderful - nicely lofty, soft, very fresh, well glazed, not too sweet.  It was filled with plenty of the mango filling, the technique of cutting it in half to fill it meant great distribution.  And the filling was just as good as I remember, fruity, sweet but not cloying, just really flavorful and unique to have in a donut.  Truly a great donut, and one I'll gladly get again and again.  ****+.

Raspberry Jelly Filled.

Later, when there were more still left, I went for a more classic red jelly filled donut.  This time, a powdered sugar coated raised donut, injected with the jelly rather than cut in half.  I'm not sure why they choose to do some via injection, and others cut in half?  Maybe due to the thickness of the filling?

Anyway, this was also a good donut, the same fresh, lofty, nice base.  I think I do like the light glaze coating more than the powdered sugar, but that might have been a bit too sweet with the sweeter red jelly in this one.  The jelly was a smooth style, no seeds or bits of berries.  Sweeter than the mango filling, very classic jelly taste, I think raspberry?  It was good, but a bit more average of an overall donut.  ***+.

Butterfinger Topped Cake w/ Vanilla Glaze.

And when there were still more donuts left ... time to experiment a bit.  I had no idea which kind this was, but it looked potentially seasonally appropriate, as it was October, and the candy (butterfinger?) topping seemed Halloween inspired perhaps.  I also wondered if there might be any pumpkin spicing going on.

I think it was just a regular cake donut base, and I was again pleased with how good of a cake donut it was, as cake donuts aren't usually what I go for.  It was very soft and moist, and had a nice flavor to it, just some light spicing of some kind.  It was well coated in white (vanilla?) glaze that wasn't too sweet, a thicker style than what is used on regular raised glazed donuts.  Yay for bits of candy on top, although they really weren't needed.

Overall, a very nice cake donut, although I think I would have preferred it without the butterfinger.  ***+ ... maybe ****.

Peanut Topped Cake with Vanilla Glaze.

And finally, a took a hunk of a similar cake donut with the same vanilla glaze, this time covered with bits of chopped peanut.  I liked the crunch, and the peanut flavor was strong, but I actually again thought I'd probably prefer it without the topping.  ***.

Original Review, May 2017

Donuts are a big part of my life.  I have them at least once a week, usually more often.  It isn't that I seek out donuts though, donuts just seem to find me.  Particularly on Fridays.  When my office has donuts all over the place, and I can't help but have one.  Or two.  Or bring one home to waffle the next day.  It is a hard life.

Like one Friday, when I already had a full breakfast, and a co-worker sent out a message to our group chat: "Donuts on my desk!"  She called me out by name, knowing I'm a donut girl, which prompted a popup on my computer and my phone.  "They are from The Jelly Donut on 24th street," she continued.

I was delighted and sad at the same time.  I had never had a donut from The Jelly Donut before, but, it has certainly been on my radar for quite a while.  My understanding, not from visiting myself, is that The Jelly Donut is a total hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop, cash only, no-frills place.  They are known for throwing in some free donuts if you get a dozen, or free donut holes if you just get a donut or two.  Generally well regarded, and I was eager to try the donuts.  Except I was just not hungry at all.

Box-O Donuts.

I took my time making my way over to the box of donuts, sorta hoping that they'd all be gone, sorta hoping that I'd magically gain an appetite.  And by took my time, I mean that I finished the meeting I was in, and then arrived at the box of donuts about 6 minutes after the initial donut message went out.  For me, this is restraint.

Three of the donuts had been cut in half, and maybe one or two were missing, but, the box was still mostly full, with an assortment of donuts, including two large filled, glazed bars (one maple, one chocolate), two glazed old fashioned (again, one maple, one chocolate), a couple cake donuts (crumb, maple glazed with sprinkles), raised (chocolate glazed), a glazed buttermilk bar, and, a namesake jelly donut.

I had no choice but to try something.

Glazed Buttermilk Bar (half).

I opted for the glazed buttermilk bar, which had already been cut in half.  The chunk was still the size of a regular full size donut (which you can see better in the above photo), so it must have been quite massive in its full form.

I tried a few bites then, but saved the rest for after lunch.  It held up fine*.

It was a good buttermilk bar.  The glaze was thick and sweet, and I liked how it soaked into the donut.  The exterior was crispy just like I like, and inside it was nicely moist.  It didn't taste too fried or oily.

There was nothing earth shattering about this donut, but, it was a well executed classic.  I did wish for more buttermilk tang however.  ***+.

*Note: buttermilk bars, and cake donuts in general, don't tend to hold up well past a few hours.  These really need to be consumed fresh.

Boston Cream Bar.

I walked by the donut box a while later, and there were still donuts remaining, including the massive Boston Cream bar, Ojan's favorite.  I had to get it for him, and, of course, try a bite myself on my way to deliver it.

The donut was a raised fluffy donut, light and airy.  The filling was vanilla custard, quite creamy, and it was well filled.  Good chocolate coating on top, although some of it broke off where the donut made contact with the maple sprinkle donut in the box.

Again, nothing earth shattering, but, well made and obviously fresh.  ***.

Maple Glazed Bar. 

I have one co-worker, who really loves donuts, but was not coming in to the office until lunch time.  He was sad to be missing out, so  I suggested that I save one for him, and picked the maple glazed for him.

It had lost nearly all its glaze though, from being against the edge of the box.  The Jelly Donut really could work on their boxing skills so as not to have all the donuts touching each other/the box and losing their toppings!  I used a knife to scoop all the glaze off the box and back onto the donut.  It didn't look very pretty, but hey, he got his glaze.

I didn't try this donut, but, he said it was great.

Jelly Donut.

I walked by the donut box again, after lunch.  (Hmm, maybe I do seek out donuts?)  There were still 3 full donuts left, including the jelly donut.  I don't understand how this was possible.  My co-workers clearly have more restraint than I.  There weren't that many donuts to begin with!

I still had most of my chunk of buttermilk bar waiting at my desk.  And I had carrot cake and a fun Filipino dessert at lunch already.  I surely didn't need more sweets.  But ... I knew that it would waffle great in the morning, so if I didn't manage to eat it during the day, I could save it for waffling purposes.  (Seriously, try waffling your leftover donuts, I promise, it is transformational!  My favorite waffled donut to date was a waffled jelly donut, so I knew this would work well.)

But of course I tried it fresh, for evaluation purposes.

Like the Boston Cream Bar, it was a fluffy, light, airy, raised donut.  It was not too fried.  The glaze on top was sweet and good, but it only covered the very top.

The best part was the filling though.  Sweet raspberry jelly.  Lots of it.  It was gooey and very flavorful.  I really liked the jelly.

Overall, a very good donut, but I actually prefer sugar coated jelly donuts over glazed.  ***+.

Leftover Jelly Donut Panini!

I did save the rest of the donut until the next morning.  I took a bite of it then, day old, and, as expected it had gotten a bit stale.  So I turned on my handy Cuisinart Griller to waffle it ...

I realized once it was already heated up that I had the panini plates rather than the waffle iron plates in my Griddler.  Whoops.  I rarely use the panini plates, so I didn't even think to check.

Never one to back down from a crazy experiment, I just panini'ed it instead, and it was great too.  You'll be able to read all about that too, soon ...

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