There are arguably no better pastries in this world than donuts. They’re one of my weaknesses. Most sweets I can either take or leave, but donuts are the one that I jump on every chance I get. Well, unless they’re Tim Hortons, or non-Krispy Kreme glazed. But give me a donut with icing or filling and it will be devoured before it even leaves your hand.

Kroger has quite a selection of baked goods, both “fake” and “actually baked”. Clyde’s donuts are the former, though they’re encased in a plastic clamshell reminiscent of fresh-baked goods. As much as I love donuts, though, a lot of them are pretty expensive. At supermarkets, a single “fresh baked” one will often run you $1 or more. And while there are usually volume discounts on half-dozens and dozens, I save the higher quantities from actual donut shops.

But even a lot of the pre-packaged ones approach $1 per, even though you’re forced to buy them in multi-packs. How much are Clyde’s? Well, that’s the kicker: A six-pack was just $3. At full retail price. It’s very rare that something from Kroger impresses me, especially in the price department. But $.60 per donut is pretty impressive.

Let’s see here…okay, the cake part is actually pretty moist. At least, as moist as donut cake can be. They are always fairly dry to some extent – apparently that’s just a characteristic of “cake” – but these are as texturally inviting as they can be. They are pretty close to the same quality as the fresh-baked donuts in Kroger’s bakery. It’s hard for mass-produced donuts to come off as “fresh”, but these do a pretty good job. You won’t confuse them for artisanal donuts from some mom- and-pop shop, but you might confuse them for donuts from a national chain.

The chocolate icing, however, is the “x-factor”. It’s the one thing that’s either going to maintain its momentum, or let it fall on its face. There are many types of icings out there, but that doesn’t mean they’re all good on donuts. Would Clyde’s come through in the clutch?

I’m happy to report that yes, yes it does. Actually, the icing is nothing to write home about. It’s your standard chocolate icing that’s on virtually every cake donut at every donut shop across the world. It has a good chocolate flavor that would be more on the side of “milk” chocolate as one would expect. There are no bitter notes and it goes down nice and smooth, the way a pastry should. Sometimes “standard” is a letdown. But here, it’s just what the doctor ordered. It won’t wow you with any sort of “twists” or complex flavors, but it delivers on what most donut fans are looking for. 

Overall: 7/10. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but products like these don’t have to. These are some good, though unremarkable, donuts that are about on par with those from national chains. The cake part is about as moist as cake can be, while the chocolate icing is just standard chocolate icing. In other words, while they’re far from innovative, they check all the boxes that the average donut connoisseur is looking for. Even price: Each 6-pack retails for a solid $3. That’s just $.60 per donut! I wouldn’t hesitate to scoop these up again. They’re at least a notch above most other, more expensive, pre-packaged brands.