Holtman’s Donuts, Stan the Donut Man, The Donut House, Martin’s Donut Shop, Milton’s Donuts – Day 2 – Butler County Donut Trail in Ohio

Day 2 of the Butler County Donut Trail had me hyped because on Day 1 of our journey many of the Day 2 shops were described by locals and others on the Donut Trail as their favorites. I was tired but determined. We spent the day prior exploring Hamilton, Ohio where we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Hamilton. If you love little towns and can appreciate the small things you will love Hamilton. They have little shops, a scenic river, biking and walking trails, and unique restaurants plus a lot more if you would just go and visit! Plus, it was a great starting point for both days of our donut journey.

Stop 1 – Holtman’s Donuts – 9558 Civic Centre Blvd, West Chester Township, OH 45069

Without referencing a map, my senses say this was the closest shop to Cincinnati. It def had more of the “city” feel than the mom and pop, local diner donut shops. They had all the trends: cereal, bacon, and unicorn varieties. And, like a true city girl, these donuts won in the vanity competition.

From the Top Left – Maple Bacon Crueler, Unicorn Blueberry Cake, Red Velvet

Bottom Left – Twisted Knot Glazed, Samoa, German Chocolate

So obvi the bacon donut you can’t go wrong. Having the maple-bacon combo on top of a crueler is definitely different. Not sure if the donut cake could hold the substance of the bacon. It was still good because, well, bacon.

Not going to be a major surprise, but my favorite was the Twisted Knot Glazed – not the technical terms if you couldn’t guess 🙂 It was that lovely knotty dough that is soft and crunchy and then glazed. It really doesn’t get much better.

If you have eyeballs you can see how beautiful the remaining donuts are. The Samoa could be mistaken for the Girl Scout Cookie if photographed just right. But I was most impressed by the Red Velvet insides. The donut cake tasted just like red velvet cake and if you aren’t into frosting this donut would be your most desired snack in the world. I, however, love frosting so I thought it could use more glaze but I’m sure most Red Velvet Cake fanatics would disagree.

Behold that beautiful red color ❤ ❤ – that’s no filter.

Stop 2 – Stan the Donut Man – 7967 Cincinnati Dayton Rd, West Chester Township, OH 45069

Stan the Donut Man – standing in the midst of a strip mall minding its own business. Strip mall status isn’t a diss – a lot of the shops on the Donut Trail are in strip malls. Stan’s fulfills the traditional donut feigns love for cake donuts and rolls. It is unassuming and obviously delicious. It isn’t going to have the same glitz as the trendy donuts – minus the pineapple fritter. The glazedness and cake were delicious. I didn’t looooove the pineapple chunks along the bottom but that is totally personal preference. I just don’t like eating a piece of fruit and would rather have it flavored or the fruit mixed in because the texture difference is too jarring. That being said it didn’t TASTE bad. I would go back again for the blueberry cake donut. Nothing there is too sweet but this had a really great blueberry flavor in the cake and no blueberry chunk pieces.

Don’t I look so joyous? My cheeks look full that’s for sure lol. Here are the selections – as you can tell the pineapple fritter is a favorite cause there’s only 2 left next to the apple fritters – if you zoom 🙂 And this is cake on cake donut heaven if that’s what you’re in to. Cake cake cake cake cake cake.

Stop 3 – The Donut House – 8268 Princeton Glendale Rd, West Chester Township, OH 45069

Maybe my expectations were too high because I liked the sign. Maybe it was the fact that you could pick a filling for multiple donut shells that were filled in front of you…I don’t want to say I hated it but this was probably my least favorite of all the shops. I was PUMPED to pick the filling for my donut shell – I got a chocolate frosted, white cream filled and a glazed bun with chocolate filling. The donut dough was OK and the filling was way too fluffy for me. Almost a whipped cream filling. People who hate sugary cream filled donuts would probably love these. I am not those people. Not to mention the girl at the counter’s attitude was SO BAD. I think her misery oozed into the donuts. Maybe her dog died that morning but she is loyal and showed up anyway, maybe it was her last day and she couldn’t bear to smile because her heart was broken, or maybe she is miserable and made their mediocre donuts worse.

That blooming glazed at the top left looks tempting, but it was decently flavorless but would I eat it again? Yes, it’s a glazed donut. The fritter was alright too…but yeah of course it is it’s a fritter. And then the 2 filled on the spot on the right side. Just all was flat for me 😦

Stop 4 – Martin’s Donuts – 4 W State St, Trenton, OH 45067

Who doesn’t love a pink building? Probably a lot of people lol but I love a bright building! Martin’s was cool because the donut making area was to the left of the entrance. Considering they open as early as 4AM I think it might be hard to catch them processing 🙂 This shop was as old school as it gets with friendly old men walking out and the man at the counter taking his time to go over and explain any questions from each customer. They were sold out of many of their favorites but I was able to try an Orange Creamsicle Donut and an Apple Fritter. I’m not a usual fan of orange flavored pastries, but this is worth leaving your comfort zone. The cake was good, the filling not too sweet or plain and the frosting was sweet deliciousness. I think the secret ingredient is love.

The Apple Fritter is in another category. The donut maker explained how they are widely requested and featured at an annual festival that they get a gazillion orders for these fritters each year. There weren’t any dirty apple chunks. Only all the dough and glaze and magnificentness of your fritter wishes. Sweet and apple-tinged and no gross textures of goo or hard apples pieces. Possibly the best apple fritter I’ve had? It’s a definite must try if you ❤ fritters or any kind of donut 🙂

Almost empty trays, a #DONUTTRAIL sign, and where the magic is made.

The beautiful Apple Fritter.

And the Orange Creamsicle Donut – love the color.

Stop 5 – Milton’s Donuts – 3533 Roosevelt Blvd, Middletown, OH 45044The last stop – Milton’s Donuts. You’d think that I would be tired of donuts by now but that is only partially correct. I’m tired from growing another heart and liver and all the other organs that compose a human and carrying around a ton of extra pounds but I am in no way tired of donuts. Milton’s had a super big chalkboard menu of donuts and when I asked for their best they said they had been sold out of those for a while. They said with their most popular flavors it doesn’t matter how many they make, they are gone long before my arrival time, which was around 10:30AM. Might want to start here if you want their best. So the man at the counter who softened the more we spoke, offered a fresh glaze, which I consumed before memorializing its beauty with my sub-par photo skills. It was a regular ring glaze in looks and a hot, fresh glazed better tasting than Krispy Kreme in consumption. So if their “best” are sold this is still a major winner. Also, I loved them because their donuts were gigantic but just because they had the size appeal they didn’t skimp on taste.

Still lots of donuts and big delicious ones but I’d go earlier next time 🙂

If you want to overindulge in sweetness, see some cute towns, and meet some nice people, then get on the Butler County Donut Trail. You have a whole summer and what else are you gonna do? Go to a museum to pretend you like artifacts that you’ll never remember the details of or go to a crowded beach and burn your porcelain skin after this long winter? No! Go get happy with some donuts and more southern accents than I heard when I was in Savannah.

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