Don’t mind the missing donut(s).

Fluffy like a croissant.
Sweet like a donut.

That’s all you gotta know as Safeway’s version of the cronut has changed names yet again. When the cronut apex was upon us, Safeway advertised Donut Croissants. Then came the more sophisticated French name of the Dou’ssant. Darn delicious I say. Now Safeway has dropped the pretense and has simply gone with the Croissant Donut. Still same price, different packaging, but still there.

This a box of goodies from Voodoo Doughnuts homed in Portland, Oregon and recently handcarried and flown to Hawaii. I had heard about this place and its crazy creations, but this was my first encounter. Although not bakery-fresh and dried out from the flight, the colors and variety was all there (sorry no pics). I went with the Voodoo Doll doughnut, but didn’t know I was supposed to use the pretzel “stake” to pierce the doughnut body and make the jelly ooze out. Yes, the doughnut looked freaky, but it was nevertheless yummy.

After recently overdosing on cronut-like hybrids, it was a relief to get back to the (sorta) basics. Gotta add Voodoo Doughnuts to my list of places to visit when going to the northwest. And just remember, “the magic is in the hole.”

• I’ll probably never try an authentic cronut from Chef Dominique Ansel.
• There’s an unspoken hierarchy of bakeries and the sophistication level of their pastries.
• Safeway (and Vons) is not in the upper tier of this bakery hierarchy.

With that out of the way, what would you expect when you see that neighborhood grocery, Safeway, now sells donut croissants, branded as Dou’ssants. I didn’t expect a whole lot. Funny thing though. With these low expectations, I bought a four set and was darn impressed with this fluffy goodness. That’s to say the Dou’ssants were delicious.

From the outside, the Dou’ssants look like husky donuts. The outer layer has a little more texture, and they’re densely heavy. On the inside, you can see some layering, but like the Croissant Donut from Saint-Germain Bakery, the construction of the Dou’ssant is like two halves melded into one. The taste reminds me of malasadas, buttery, glazed malasadas. After eating one, that glaze around your lips is hard to wash off.

So here’s my personal take. Of all the cronut variations in Hawaii, the Dou’ssants are your best overall pick. What? Why? Like I said, I’ve never sampled the original cronut so I don’t have a basis for comparison. But the Dou’ssants are very yummy. The price is right at four for $6. Availability is good if every Safeway sells them. I don’t have to go to a Waikiki hotel, I don’t have to go to specific locations downtown or in Ala Moana, and I don’t have to search out a mobile location. Inexpensive, yummy, and widely available – that’s a recipe for success.

I couldn’t find them in Kailua, and I’m not sure if there are other varieties, but the dou’ssants come in a box (or container) of four for $6.99.

Look for them in the stands with the other fresh baked goods. Sadly, I’m too stuffed to try one. Come back tomorrow for a review of a dou’ssant.

Locally in Hawaii, the cronut now takes shape as the croissada. Yes, that’s a croissant and a malasada. Available exclusively at the Pacific Beach Hotel, a croissada is:

a delicate blend of a croissant and malasada filled with a Polynesian vanilla Bavarian cream.

Damn, my idea for a local-style cronut would have been called Cheeholes, playing off of the “cheehoo” exclamation. The tagline for Cheeholes would have been, “They’ll make you” (it’s meant to be an open ended question), and the URL would have been cheehol.es. There goes a fat fortune.