Starting on September 1, McDonald's will begin offering glazed pull-apart donuts as part
of their McCafé Bakery lineup. The idea is that the donut will be reduced to a series
of smaller blobs of deliciousness, glued together by a sugary sweet glaze.
One might interpret this as the chain essentially serving a take on Dunkin' Donuts' Munchkins,
but with a tearing gimmick that speaks to the destructive streak in everybody's heart.
A McDonald's press release provides further details, noting the donut will only be available
at participating locations and — like the rest of the McCafé Bakery offerings — will
be for sale all-day.
Because there's no mention in the promotional materials of "while supplies last," one might
be tempted to speculate that this "limited time offer" will extend for as long as McDonald's
deems the donut to be popular.
If the pull-apart donuts are highly successful, they might even become a permanent fixture
of all McDonald's locations. After all, as the press release notes, this marks the first
time the McCafé Bakery has had a limited-time item; this is a menu that prefers to play
for keeps.
"Is it time to make the donuts?"
While there are still a couple of weeks before fans can try the new McDonald's donuts, that
isn't keeping people from already offering thoughts online. Some have taken to Twitter
to share their opinions.
Twitter user @safeandsilent was critical of the new McDonald's offering, writing,
"US @McDonalds excited to be launching, for a limited time, ... a donut. Looks OK in picture
but in the stores they sit all day and get weepy or they're still cold and clammy from
the refrigerator. So not worth the negative nutritional hit."
Another Twitter user, @TheeBadGuy1, demanded the return of another fan favorite instead.
They wrote,
"Forget donuts. @McDonalds bring back the steak, egg and cheese sandwich."
Other comments expressed concern over sharing a donut, with some pointing to the ongoing
COVID pandemic and others their own personal appetite as the reason this product might
not make sense.
Luckily for the chain, at least one McDonald's customer was intrigued by the upcoming treat.
User @GigPatta tweeted,
"Curse you @McDonalds in tempting me to try this glazed donut you're introducing."
We're sure there are other, less vocal, fans of the chain who will at least consider trying
the donuts before passing judgement.
The new glazed pull-apart donuts at McDonald's are far from the first donut offered at the
fast food chain. In fact, this is the third type of donut McDonald's has added to the
menu in as many years.
According to USA Today, McDonald's added donut sticks to their menu for a limited time in
2019 after testing them twice the year before. At the time, McDonald's vice president of
menu innovation Linda VanGosen said in a statement,
"We looked at several donut shapes, tested a variety of doughs and even worked to get
the amount of cinnamon sugar just right for the recipe."
"Shouldn't they be called McDonut McSticks, or something like that?"
McDonald's then tried donuts out in 2020 at Canadian locations. The fast food chain introduced
mini donuts that included five flavors as a permanent menu item. The selection of donuts
included a sprinkle donut, an apple fritter, a strawberry jelly donut, a Boston cream donut,
and a maple caramel donut.
The format of the current McCafe Bakery menu was in part created as a response to the pandemic.
In July 2020, Restaurant Business reported that despite an improvement in sales as a
whole, McDonald's breakfast had an anemic showing due to the increased number of people
working at home. McDonald's devised new all-day bakery items in the context of this slump.
The McCafé Bakery kicked off with the cinnamon roll, Blueberry Muffin, and Apple fritter,
which the chain launched in 2020. While that fleet of sweets was not met with universal
acclaim, the home of the Golden Arches hailed the items as an overall success, calling them
"instant fan-favorites."
Time, and specifically September, will tell whether these pull-apart donuts can achieve
similar popularity or even pack the same staying power as a breakfast classic like the Egg
McMuffin. But considering how sugary, these glazed treats sound, if they're only around
for a limited time, parting will be extra-sweet sorrow.
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