So, I actually saw this first on my Facebook feed, posted by an American friend who wondered why he couldn’t get one in America. Reading more closely, I was like WTF? Krispy Kreme in Australia is now doing Reese’s Peanut Butter doughnuts. I had to have one.
I found the rise and fall of Krispy Kreme pretty interesting to watch. It sort of took over North America, and almost the world for a while and then it seemed almost as quickly to recede. I had to admit that I found the original doughnuts a perfect combination of sugar glaze and texture: they really were addictive. The other flavours seemed just OK to me.
Krispy Kreme is down to a handful of outlets in Australia. Luckily, a new outlet has opened just on the other side of Central Station. I grabbed two of these doughnuts (for $7) and was offered a pretty good coffee for only $1 on top of that.
I squirreled the doughnuts home for an afternoon snack with the better half. He thought it was pretty good. I was disappointed. The filling tastes like… peanut butter. And the chocolate glaze like chocolate. I think the problem is that I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They’re my favourite. And they don’t really taste like chocolate or peanut butter. The peanut butter is sweetened and hardened just so; it’s nearly the same texture as the soft North American chocolate which is kind of milky and kind of low quality. It all melds together into something really tasty.
Trader Joe’s make a version of this which I discovered, which taste suspiciously high quality, both the chocolate and the filling. They’re good, but they’re kind of in a different category to me. The Reese’s originals are really my gold standard. The white chocolate ones are OK. The dark chocolate not bad. The ‘big cup’ someone loses the combination of textures by being too big. Likewise, the mini ones. Reese’s pieces. Meh.
So, I suppose it was bound to be a disappointment, and I’m not quite sure how it will fly in this country. Most Australians I know think the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is kind of weird and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are not part of their cultural heritage (and were in fact a bit hard to find a few years ago). Let’s see how long they last…