The Cronut Craze Might Be Over

When I arrived at the bakery around 2:45 p.m., there was no line for the Cookie Shot, yet the bakery staff told me I had to wait outside for it anyway. Only about five people lined up behind me by the time the cookie service started at 3 p.m. It's been seven months since the release, so it appears that the demand has died down. The Cookie Shot is served straight out of a warming drawer, which is awesome in theory but sort of awful in execution. The butter from the cookie separated and oozed out to the exterior, making the flavor and eating experience really greasy. The cold, sweet, vanilla-laced milk is a nice contrast, and I highly recommend ordering extra, as that little splash isn't really enough for the full Cookie shot. The cookie itself is chewy (not crunchy) and definitely too large to consume in one sitting. I really wanted to love this, but at the end of the day, I kind of just wanted a cookie with milk.

Last year, I arrived at 6 a.m. and was about 40th in line. This year, I arrived at 6:30 and was third. Last year, when I ordered my Cronut, it was on a sheet tray, freshly iced. The exterior was crispy and flaky. The filling didn't spill out of the croissant folds and wasn't too sweet or rich. And the icing on the top tasted similar to doughnut glaze. This year, the Cronuts were already packaged and tasted, straight-up, like a stale, day-old doughnut. Perhaps the steam from the box contributed to the Cronut's sogginess. Or maybe the bakery fries up the Cronuts extremely early in the morning to let them cool completely before filling. But that was just the start of the problem . . .

The filling overwhelmed the pastry, and with each bite, about a tablespoon's worth plopped out. The cream itself tasted overwhipped and overly sweetened. My friend complained that it stuck to the back of her teeth. The "glaze" on top had the texture of fondant or marzipan and was completely set . . . making me think these Cronuts had been assembled several hours before. Overall, I took maybe three bites and had to pass on the rest. Looking around the bakery, the employees appeared completely drained and devoid of any happiness. The Cronut tasted as exhausted as the bakers' faces, which makes sense as the official recipe is extremely time-consuming and laborious, to say the least.

In August, Dominique released the peanut-butter-filled pretzel, shaped like a lobster tail, and served it with a browned-butter-honey dip. I love pretzels and peanut butter, so I thought, "How could this combo possibly be messed up?" Unfortunately, it, too, tasted gummy and stiff, like stale bread. Another friend who visited on a separate occasion also agreed that the flavors just tasted off and that there was no real need for the butter sauce, as the peanuts and dough were rich and fatty enough.

Two visits and three sad pastries later, I'm leaving NYC craving a good Cronut but hopeful that my next trip is sweet. The Cronut's success has kept Dominique extremely busy conducting interviews, traveling for events, and promoting his new book. Maybe, on some level, the chef is hoping the pressure and demand to create hybrid pastries will die down and the bakery can resume baking Dominique's classic standbys, like the canelé and kouign-amann, which always satisfy.