Apple Cider Donut Smoothies: An autumnal must, or a Halloween nightmare?

Folks, it’s no secret that the dining halls do not exactly impress; whether it is the lack of healthy or gluten-free options, cross-contamination, or the fact that they close at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, we all have our qualms. However, Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) realizes that students aren’t happy and are trying to mend the relationship between students and the dining halls. 

This month, as a fun and festive treat for students, Mary’s is serving Apple Cider Donut Smoothies every Friday of the month of Oct. as their smoothie of the month. This smoothie comes with its own apple cider powdered donut on the straw and offers a little taste of fall for your Fridays. 

The smoothie is a combination of apple cider, nutmeg, honey, vanilla yogurt, and a donut. Honestly, not a bad start, unless of course, you are dairy free or allergic to any of these ingredients, at which point don’t drink the smoothie: you have been warned. 

Now, let’s start with expectations. I didn’t expect much in the way of taste. I had heard about this smoothie from an email that CAS sent out with some of their updates and was slightly intrigued—I wasn’t entirely sure how you could recreate the taste of a donut, a dry treat, into a smoothie. Part of the experience of any food, not just donuts, is the texture, and smoothies are inherently wet; donuts are not. 

That being said, I also had concerns about whether or not the smoothie would actually taste like apples, let alone a donut. I think that we all have been there, when something says something is apple or grape flavored and it isn’t actually that flavor. Artificial flavors combined to create a flavor that the practitioners of food flavoring label “apple,” but in reality, tastes like diabetes or cancer. And let’s remember, CAS is not gourmet, nor was it ever meant to be a gourmet food. As such, I expected very little in the way of flavor, or at least in the flavor resembling apples, cider, or donuts. 

Now, for actual impressions. To my surprise, not only was this smoothie delicious, it tasted exactly like an apple cider donut, in a good way. The apple and the nutmeg were the most predominant flavors, creating a very on-par fall flavor. The crisp flavor of the nutmeg created that holiday feel that everyone looks for in their pumpkin spice drinks, and the little bite of the nutmeg gives a little sass to my day. The yogurt gave that smooth, creamy texture that smoothies have, but didn’t overpower the other flavors. The honey was subtle, just a little sweetness that hid behind the other flavors—a little shy to meet you, but still clearly there. One of the ingredients is the donut itself; I’m not entirely sure what that means, but you could taste the richness of a donut within the smoothie. Lastly, the powdered donut on the straw was good—not great, but good. 

All in all, the smoothie exceeded my expectations. Not only did it actually taste like an apple cider donut, but it also tasted very good as a smoothie. The only thing that could have made it better is if it was cold. I recommend it!