Whatever happened to …

2021-01-10

Whatever happened to …

… Maple Dip Donuts?

Just so you can hate me and move on to another blog post, I’ll be up front here and let you know that I don’t like chocolate.

I’m also not a big donut eater either. But, it’s tough being in a car with company that does appreciate this very filling delicacy between meals.

Three times this past week, I’ve been in a Tim Horton’s drive-through where my passenger(s) wanted a treat. Say what you will about our educational system, the person taking the order can do the math. If you order three drinks and only two donuts, they’ll prompt you to make sure that you’re not missing something. Genius marketing!

Now, it’s been a while since we bought donuts so I was quite surprised when I ordered a chocolate dip or double chocolate or whatever and I felt the urge to order something for myself – the Maple Dip Donut. Hey, this is Canada, after all.

But, it was three times that I ordered and was told that they were not available. This was at three different times of the day so I guess I wasn’t the victim of a timely rush. I know that we’re always at the mercy of business decisions and that I’m in the minority by not ordering chocolate. So, was this a business decision? We’ve seen a decision in town where we went from two Tim Horton’s shops to one. The one that close was walk-in only so may have been a COVID casualty. In normal times, it was always packed.

I checked the main website and Maple Dip is still listed as a product. I also found this interesting article where Tim Horton’s products are ranked and it’s number 10.

To end the story, I ended up taking two passes and one old fashioned plain as my way of protest.

Your thoughts for a Sunday …

Are you a Tim Horton’s fan or have you moved on to one of the other competitors?
While airing grievances, I remember a time when dogs onboard were offered a Timbit but I’ve been told that’s no longer a thing. Jaimie wants to know why
What’s your pick when you treat yourself to a cuppa and a donut?
Is it just me or is it weird to type donut instead of doughnut?
Do you agree with the donut ranking in the Vancouver article?
So, what about the Maple Dip? Is it available at your local store and I’m just out of luck here or has it been retired?

Please check in with your thoughts in the comments below.

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Just Rambling

Posted by:

dougpete

The content of this blog is created by me at the keyboard or as a result of an aggregator of my daily reading under the title OTR Links. On Fridays, look for my signature post “This Week in Ontario Edublogs” where I try to share some great writing from Ontario Educators. The other regular post appears Sunday mornings as I try to start a conversation about things that have gone missing from our daily lives.

6 responses to “Whatever happened to …”

Andrew Forgrave

January 10, 2021 at 7:47 am

Good morning Doug!

For years, I have considered it to be bad form to post a picture of your meal late in the evening such that other folks see it and are suddenly faced with hunger pangs too close to their bedtime.

I don’t think I have ever noticed the same influence early in the morning, but you should know that I am suddenly feeling the urge to head out to Tim Hortons for a sugar fix. However, I will use my mental powers and defer the compulsion until later in the day.

As you have indicated, given that we reside in Canada, Maple flavoured goodies are well enjoyed. I haven’t heard any news recently about the Canadian strategic reserve of maple syrup, so I’m going to go out on a (Maple branch) limb and suggest that The Maple Dip should be available at my local Tim Hortons outlets. At last count, I think we had seven stores here, so perhaps I will go out later today for a treat(ment) of vitamin D and conduct a small survey. Certainly, your mention of the maple dip doughnut has awakened my taste buds for some thing a little bit more enjoyable than my morning oatmeal.

The ordered list of Tim Hortons’ donut varieties is certainly interesting. For a time, back in high school, I took to enjoying an afterschool sugar fix of a hot chocolate and chocolate eclair (#17) at Tim’s. That didn’t last for too long, but I didn’t have to worry about extra calories back then, either.

Later, favoured honey cruelers (#15) for the longest time.

When the boys were young, they always went for the donuts with the sprinkles on them (#3 Vanilla Dip) and later the double chocolate #13) and chocolate glazed (#6).

At some point as the boys aged, I gravitated towards my current favorite. I do eat the sour cream glazed (#1) as my favourite in Timbit form, but it’s not substantial enough when I’m in the mood for a real doughnut. When I’m in the mood for a real doughnut, I always go for the Apple fritter (#2). That probably has something to do with the fact that I grew up living in the middle of an apple orchard.

A couple side notes related to that:
1. We had a maple bush and topped the maple trees in the spring using buckets, before the days when trees reconnected with labour-saving plastic tubes. Making maple syrup was always fun, except for the part where you had to carry the buckets of sap, collect and cut the firewood, and stand around in the cold while the sap boiled. Come to think of it, I perhaps only enjoyed the part when you poured the sap in the snow and then rolled it up on a stick.
2. In addition to making apple cider, we also made apple butter. In some ways, it was an acquired taste while I was young, but I remember my dad took 5 gallon tubs of apple butter into the local donut shop (it wasn’t a Tim’s) And they made donuts for us with the apple butter injected into the center. We always had frozen boxes of apple butter donuts in the freezer, and they always made for a tasty treat.

OK, it’s 7:46 am, So the sun came up three minutes ago, and I guess it’s time for me to head out to visit the Tim Hortons so that I can conduct a maple dip survey. I will let you know the results!

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SStewart

January 10, 2021 at 11:44 am

I suppose I will still be your friend and read your blog even though you don’t like chocolate 😀 Maple is a good flavour too and my husband often seeks out maple treats.

I am not a regular at any coffee shop, so temptations are avoided, I guess. I like a good treat, preferably with chocolate involved, but for some reason I don’t feel well after eating most kinds of doughnuts (including Thunder Bay’s famous “persians”!). I only drink coffee in the morning and since I don’t tolerate any sweet treats very well early in the day, it’s just coffee for me. My afternoon tea time will often pair well with a cookie or piece of dark chocolate.

There is a doughnut made in Thunder Bay that I do enjoy however, if I do get a craving. Holland Bakery only makes one kind — honey glazed. They are light and delicious and not hard to eat two! If you ever get back to the city, Doug, you will have to try one!

Hope you get your Maple Dip order filled soon!

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Lisa Corbett

January 10, 2021 at 3:30 pm

We can get maple dip near our house. I know this because my daughter loves raspberry filled donuts. We had to find a back-up flavour because they were often out of those. Maple dip is one of her favourites. We can’t always get chocolate dip (which she loves too!) but she’ll take a vanilla dip as a last resort. Her brother, on the other hand, hates chocolate and only likes vanilla dip. He especially appreciates that the sprinkles change with the seasons.

I’m happy to have a white hot chocolate, but if I’m looking for a treat I’ll try a cookie. Since they stopped selling the Dutchy I haven’t found a donut I love.

When I was a kid we lived near a woman everyone called Grandma Andy. She made the best donuts and gave them out at an annual donut party. Her family also sold them at the local farm fair. The lineup to get one was always very long, but so worth it. Store bought donuts have never quite measured up.

I’m wondering if some flavours are pushed more during the speciality months. Maybe in March and April the maple dip will be more plentiful? Strawberry filled are only available in June (you can guess why I know this!) and one of us misses them the rest of the year.

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Andrew Forgrave

January 10, 2021 at 11:00 pm

Maple Dip Doughnut Report:January 10, 2021.

Pre-Survey Research:
There are 15 Tim Hortons restaurants within a 20 minute drive.
11 are located in Belleville proper. 4 in Trenton (not included)
I was unable to access the outlets within Belleville General Hospital and Loyalist College. I mistakenly drove past the location at the 10 Acre Truck Stop, after not finding it a block away where I thought it was located

Number of Tim Hortons visited: 8
Number of Maple Dip doughnuts acquired: 2
Number of Apple Fritters acquired: 1
Number of Tim Horton’s sold out of all maple donuts: 3
Number of Tim Horton’s not carrying any maple donuts: 3
Number of donuts eaten: 2 too many (but they were all delicious!)

Results: 5/8 of the Tim Horton’s visited carry Maple doughnuts.

Inference: The Maple Dip and Canadian Maple doughnuts seem to be available in doughnut shops which support both drive-through and walk in clientele. Smaller, drive-through only outlets seem to have a more limited selection and did not carry any maple donuts.

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OTR Links 01/11/2021 – doug — off the record

January 11, 2021 at 12:32 am

[…] Whatever happened to … – doug — off the record […]

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alfredtwo

January 11, 2021 at 10:46 am

I’ve never had a maple dip donut but then again we have for Tim Horton’s anywhere around me. The go-to donut place in Dunkin Donuts and my favorite there is Boston Cream.
Doughnut feels weird even though I know it is probably more correct.

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