With the season, comes the craving for those cinnamony, delicious,
fresh cider donuts from Averill Farms, a local tradition in the Hills.

When apples are ready for picking and the lines for cider donuts start forming at Washington’s Averill Farm, you know fall has truly arrived in the Northwest Corner. Famous for its delicious, natural apple cider and sweet cider donuts, Averill Farm has been operating continuously by the Averill family since it was purchased in 1746 from the holdings of Chief Waramaug. A dairy farm for many years, the 250-acre property today features an expansive fruit orchard (the farm also produces hay and Christmas trees). Sam Averill, of the ninth generation, runs the farm with his wife, Susan, and their son, Tyson, growing apples and pears that are sold both as picked fruit and pick-your-own (PYO). More than 90 apple varieties are grown (including Liberty, Cortland, Macoun, Spartan, and McIntosh, to name a few) and about 25 types are available for customers to pick.

The Averills have been making apple cider for over 30 years—first, bringing their apples to an outside mill, then, in 2005 producing cider in a new mill of their own. Cider from the Averills is made from their own apples, a mixture of different types, and it’s sold in its pure state—unpasteurized, for the very freshest taste. It has no added ingredients or preservatives. “We think it is  best and healthiest in its natural state,” Susan says. But, she adds, if you prefer your cider pasteurized, all you have to do is heat it to boiling, let it cool, and voilà! Pasteurized.

To help recoup their investment in the new mill building, the Averills put in a jewel-box of a bakery area, as they only press cider once or twice a week. And then came the donuts. Those sumptuous donuts! So what’s the secret recipe? “I did some research beforehand,” Susan says, “and put together our own recipe, but using our cider to make the donuts is a key element. The other is that we only sell the donuts on the day they’re made, or, if we have any left, they are frozen that day.” Once the donuts are topped off with sugar and cinnamon, you’ve got  a piece of heaven! But you can’t just buy them at any store: these cider donuts can only be found at the family’s farm stand, at the New Milford Farmer’s Market, and the Southbury Farmer’s Market. That way the family can control the quality of their product, meaning they’re only sold ultrafresh.

Most weekends, Averill Farm bustles with people picking apples or (for the less ambitious) buying bagged fruit and baked goods. Family and friends gather to enjoy a cup of hot cider and some of those delectable cider donuts. With such a demand for the donuts, there’s always a crowd, and the friendly staff hustle to take orders and bag hot, fresh donuts as they come out of the kitchen, calling out customers’ names. During the fall, the bakery can produce as many as 2,600 donuts a day. If you need more than a donut to sustain you, there’s a pizza truck on the property, too. Cassandra’s Pizza to the People offers tasty wood-fired pizza slices. You can pull up a seat at one of the picnic tables and soak in the views of the orchard and the surrounding farmland from the hill. It’s sort of the platonic ideal of a fall weekend in the country.

And if you don’t want to settle for a mere mug of hot or cold cider, you can pick up a jug of cider to take home. Cider, by the way, lends itself beautifully to a classic hot toddy: just  heat  it up, add a little rum, and perch a cinnamon stick in your cup. It also makes a mean marinade for turkey, or a glaze for ham and poultry. Some people even add it to homemade soups, instead of wine, for even greater depth.

In addition to apples, pears, cider, and donuts, Averill Farm offers housemade jams and jellies (sourced from their own fruit and those of neighboring farms), much of it organic; plus honey, ciderscape vinegar, and other local produce such as potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, mums, and maple syrup. Pies, tea breads, crumb cakes, Vermont cheddar cheese, and gift items are also sold at the farm stand.

Cider by the cup (hot or cold) is $1.00, by the gallon is $9.00, or by the half-gallon is $5.00. Donuts are $1,00 each, $5.00 for a half-dozen, or $10.00 a dozen.

Averill Farm, 250 Calhoun Street, Washington Depot, 06794; 860.868.2777 or www.averillfarm.com
Their farmstand is open 7 days a week from 9:30 to 5:30, mid-August to Thanksgiving.