Food

The best places to eat cider doughnuts in Massachusetts, according to Boston.com readers

Get ready for a cinnamon-dusted taste of fall.

Apple cider doughnuts from Red Apple Farm's stand in the Boston Public Market. Wendy Maeda / The Boston Globe

October 11, 2016

Nothing says fall quite like the scent of freshly fried, cinnamon-sugar rolled cider doughnuts. It’s a match made in October—and our readers seem to agree.

Because it’s the season for this tasty treat, we asked Boston.com readers on Facebook to share their favorite place to get cider doughnuts in Massachusetts, and almost 200 people chimed in. Readers mentioned dozens of in-state doughnut shops, stands, and restaurants, but four spots proved to be the most popular among our readers.

1. Honey Pot Hill Orchards (29 mentions)

Is it bad that I get to work in the morning, look around at all the fruit and think “how many cider donuts is a full breakfast?”

— Honey Pot Hill (@Honeypothill) July 28, 2015

This orchard is clearly popular for more than its apple picking. Honey Pot Hill is one of our readers’ favorite spots, thanks to its paper bags filled with mini cider doughnuts. (138 Sudbury Rd., Stow)

2. Atkins Farms (17 mentions)

How about a nice warm cup of apple cider on a rainy day!

Posted by Atkins Farms Country Market on Friday, October 14, 2011

One readers described the doughnuts from Atkins Farms as “the best anywhere.” And the farm stand doesn’t just serve up doughnuts and cider—they also have breakfast, lunch, and bakery menus, as well as gift baskets and seasonal produce. (1150 West St., Amherst)

3. Cider Hill Farm (12 mentions)

Cider Hill Farm doughnuts are definitely worth the trip to Amesbury, according to Boston.com readers. While you’re there, one reader suggested pairing your fall treat with a warm cup of the farm’s award-winning cider. (45 Fern Ave., Amesbury)

4. Smolak Farms (12 mentions)

#Repost @myfoodthoughts Cider donuts and apple crisp á la mode for lunch. 😀 at Smolak Farms #fallinnewengland #smolakfarms #appleciderdonuts #applecrisp #myfoodthoughts

Posted by Smolak Farms on Monday, September 26, 2016

Picking apples, exploring pumpkin patches, and getting lost in corn mazes can make you work up an appetite and, according to our readers, Smolak Farms’s cider doughnuts are the perfect fix. (315 S. Bradford St., North Andover)

Plenty of other cider doughnut spots got shoutouts from our readers. Here are the places with five or more mentions:

Bolton Spring Farm (Bolton), Brooksby Farm (Peabody), Tougas Family Farm (Northborough), Wilson Farm (Lexington), and Russell Orchards (Ipswich).

Places with three mentions:

Red Apple Farm (Phillipston, Boston Public Market), and Parlee Farms (Tyngsboro).

Places with two mentions:

C.N. Smith Farm Inc. (East Bridgewater), Something Sweet Without Wheat (Arlington), Davidian Bros. Farm (Northborough), Carlson Orchards (Harvard), Volante Farms (Needham), and Ingaldsby Farm (West Boxford).

Places with one mention:

Somebody’s Place (Andover), The Farmer’s Daughter (Auburn), Hagers Farm Market (Shelburne Falls), Kane’s Donuts (Saugus and Boston), Idylwilde Farm (Acton), Shelburne Farm (Stow), Mann Orchards (Methuen), Boston Hill Farm (North Andover), Cape Cod Coffee Roasters (Mashpee), Calareso’s Farmstand and Garden Center (Reading), The Big Apple (Wrentham), and Keith’s Farm (Acushnet).