NEW! Limited Edition Caramel Cookie Doughnut (Greggs)

It's doughnut change week at Greggs and whilst I was sad to say goodbye to their fabulous chocolate orange doughnut, the bakery chain more than made up for the loss with their new creation. Well, actually there's two new doughnuts which Greggs kings @macrodad & @notyouraveragejoe_89 kindly alerted me to via their morning food porn over the past couple of days.

The first new doughnut was a lemon sherbert ring which appeared on Wednesday. It sounded tasty but I wasn't desperate to have it. Then yesterday morning Joe discovered the caramel cookie doughnut. Now that I had to have, quick smart!

It just so happened that I was in Hereford city centre at the time, so popped into Greggs on the way home. Alas! No cookie doughnuts in sight. Do I continue back home or detour back to the other Greggs? Silly question really.

"Sweet biscuit flavoured filling, topped with caramel flavour fondant with spiced biscuit crumb and white decoration."

Remind you of anything? Krispy Kreme's Biscoff doughnut perhaps? Talking of which, I don't believe that the 're-branding' to Krispy Cream is real, I think it's a publicity stunt (remember the 'leaked email'?) otherwise they're effectively declaring the U.K as stupid.

Anyway, let's not take the limelight away from Greggs here. The doughnut was lighter than expected and looked every part the luxury doughnut. At £1 (also part of a £2 deal with a hot drink) it's not badly priced either.

The dough itself was what I've come to expect from Greggs: less sweet, more bready. This was easily the freshest doughnut I'd had from the chain though, and despite the fact it had been bought at 10am and not eaten until 9pm (yes, my self restraint is commendable) it was still perfectly soft, even at the edges.

Slicing it in half revealed a pale whipped centre. It was a sight for sore eyes given that it was much more generously filled than any high street doughnut I've ever had*. Flavour wise the creme was super sweet with a mild cookie flavour. Perhaps it could've done with more spiced biscuit, but it was still absolutely delicious.

The Caramel fondant was thick and gooey, adding yet more sweetness. This is where Greggs have gained the upper hand with their less sugary doughnut however; the flavours balanced out, managing to stop my teeth from jarring.

Atop the icing was the biscuit crumbs, which miraculously had remained crisp and crunchy, adding in extra crunch. I often wonder why the chains don't include crunchy biscuit pieces in the filling itself though -after all crunchy Biscoff is better than smooth.

If you've managed to read this far without stopping what you're doing and immediately making your way to Greggs I both applaud you and wonder what on earth you're playing at. Don't miss out any longer, go and get yourself a Caramel Cookie Doughnut straightaway!

9/10

*Just check out this shockingly filled Greggsnut I bought recently...

...and it certainly doesn't beat the filling ratio in the Black Forest doughnut I had a couple of weeks ago from The Tandem Bakery (which is well worth a visit if you're in Hereford)!