Krispy Kreme's Ghiradelli Donuts
As a Northern California gal, I am a huge Ghiradelli chocolate fan. Yes, you can get Ghiradelli anywhere, but items that come from your home state have a special place in your heart. When Krispy Kreme announced that they were teaming up with Ghiradelli, my curiosity was peaked. I was even more excited that the two flavor profiles they picked are my two favorite flavors, not just for Ghiradelli: mint and caramel. After getting soaked at last night's baseball game, we decided it was a good night to pick up these two featured donuts.
Growing up, my all time favorite chocolate was Mint Ghiradelli chocolate. If you wanted to get me a nice treat, that was the way to go. I had to laugh as Kristin and I ate these donuts. The first bite a normal bite, like anyone else would take. After that, we literally picked it apart dissecting each element for taste. Our overall thought, Krispy Kreme did a great job of lightly highlighting the taste of Ghiradelli's mint chocolate without overwhelming the eater with mint. There were times when we debated the hint of mint, such as the creamy middle. I *thought* I could taste a light subtle mint; however, Kristin said that it tasted just like the regular cream filling. Thankfully, we were in the comfort and privacy of our home as we dipped our fingers into the cream and licked it off trying to distinguish if that was truly a mint center. The donuts did have a great touch of mint in the mini chocolate chips on the top. Kristin loved them. I loved the taste; however, texture-wise they didn't quite do it for me. That was just a matter of preference. I wanted a nice soft donut, not hard things on top. The mini chocolate chips did add a great mint flavor to the donut though. (Although, again we debated...were they mint or regular mini chocolate chips. Either way, the Ghiradelli flavor added to the donut.) It was needed as the dark chocolate glaze was regular. So, by the time we got to the end of the donut, it tasted plain. Kristin commented that she wishes she would have eaten the donut with the plain side first so that it ended with the great taste.
Krispy Kreme if you are listening: I know that this is a limited time donut. However, it would make an awesome addition to your line up...with a few slight changes. We would take away the mini chocolate chips and instead use the fabulous Ghiradelli mint chocolate to make a wonderful thick glaze on top.
...and our request to Ghiradelli: We know that you make mini chocolate chips for baking. Can you PUH-lease sell mint mini chocolate chips? We like to use mini chocolate chips to top things like hot chocolate and think those would be awesome!
I truly want to like it. I like aspects of it. However, I found myself critiquing it instead. Sometimes, the first bite of something sets your whole mood. My first bite included one of the sweet salt chunks on top. Yep- I used the word chunk. I know that Krispy Kreme was going for little rocks that weren't just salt, but a mixture of salt and sugar. When I sucked on just one by itself, I actually liked the taste. However, they were the size of actual rock salt (like you use to de-ice your driveway...or Kristin compared them to the size of peas) and hard as a rock. Truthfully, they are kind of a liability as someone could break a tooth on them...literally. If Krispy Kreme would have made them the size of the sea salt, that is often used in salted caramel items, then they probably would have added a good taste element to the donut. Instead, I ended up brushing them off as there was no way that they could be eaten with the donut. The overall bite of my donut tasted fine. I liked the combination chocolate and caramel. This time the topping of dark chocolate glaze and caramel had a good consistency across the top of the donut that added to the flavor...well, the caramel did. While I don't want this to turn into a blast (as I am a Krispy Kreme fan), their dark chocolate glaze seems bland and bitter to me, which is coming from a dark chocolate fan. The caramel filling shows potential, but missed the mark a little with its over saltiness...to the point that Kristin chose to not finish her donut. She did compliment it on having almost a Wether's Original caramel taste, just saltier.
