Donut deep-dive: HERO, Donut Worry, Heirloom Donuts, and Tim Hortons

Fayette and Coweta County are home to a wide variety of amazing food spots with plenty options to satisfy any craving. One area that we felt was worthy of a tasty deep dive was donuts, and so we set out to conduct research on what donuts were the best in town.

For this task, I brought four self-proclaimed donut experts (and good friends) to join me on a sugar-fueled mission to find the best donuts. Our tour included HERO, Donut Worry, Heirloom Donuts, and the newly opened Tim Hortons.At each stop, we asked the staff for three of their bestsellers and began our taste-testing spree from there.

First Stop: HERO in Trilith

Donuts Tried: Cereal Milk, Cookies and Cream, and Maple Sea Salt

Right off the bat, we were impressed with the airy consistency of each donut’s base. The lightness of each donut is perfect for any donut marathon of your own you plan to embark on in the future.

We began with the Cereal Milk donut, which had a milk glaze and colorful and crunchy Fruity Pebbles on top. For this donut, we felt like the texture was more powerful than the flavor, but that was not necessarily a bad thing.

“The Fruity Pebbles have an amazing crunch that resembles the texture of a Rice Crispy Treat on top of the fresh donut,” said donut connoisseur Julia Geise.

The sugary glaze on top of the donut resulted in a sugary, sweet tasting donut with an enjoyable texture, but not much depth.

Next, we tried the Cookies and Cream donut which features a milk glaze and crushed Oreos.

The base donut continued to impress, but the ratio of crushed Oreos to icing was lacking slightly. With more Oreos on top, the chocolate flavor would have better balanced the sweetness of the icing.

Our favorite HERO donut we tried was hands-down the Maple Sea Salt donut. This donut had a maple glaze that was smoother and lighter than the others, and also had a pinch of sea salt on top that created a harmonious balance.

The maple glaze was smooth and the sea salt was applied in a perfect amount to balance out the maple glaze.

“It had a great donut-to-icing ratio,” said donut aficionado Eva Watson “The salt was surprisingly the perfect addition to get a nice sweet-salty balance.”

HERO donuts’ best quality is the airiness of their donuts, but our biggest critique is that the icing was often an overpowering sweet flavor that could used to be dialed back on to allow other flavors from the donut to shine. 

Ranking:

1. Maple Sea Salt
2. Cookies and Cream
3. Cereal Milk

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Second Stop: Donut Worry in Peachtree City

Donuts Tried: Cronut, Red Velvet, and Reese’s Peanut Butter

Donut Worry had a wide selection with some fun and unique flavors to try from.

First up was the Cronut, which is a mix between a croissant and a donut. This donut tastes like an elevated glazed donut, it was flaky, light, and had a nice glaze. 

Then we had the red velvet donut, which had a cakey texture and a crisp outer shell.

“The exterior has a nice shell that when you bite into, breaks to a moist, cakey donut,” said donut fan Julia Gorski.

While the red velvet flavor was not bold, the texture was pleasant and still served to be a nice treat as we neared the halfway point of our donut spree.

Finally, we tried the Reese’s Peanut Butter donut, topped with a peanut butter glaze, chocolate drizzle, and chopped Reese’s Cups. The topping was great and the peanut butter flavor was strong, but the consistency lacked the freshness we were hoping for.

Donut Worry’s best quality was their wide selection that had some unique flavors we did not see elsewhere, but the downside to Donut Worry was the lack of freshness of their regular donut base as used on the Reese’s donut. 

Ranking:

1. Cronut
2. Red Velvet
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter 

Overall Rating: 7/10

Third Stop: Heirloom Donuts in The Avenue

Donuts Tried: Bavarian Cream, Sweet Pig, and Chocolate Sprinkles

The customer service at Heirloom was phenomenal, with the employees taking the time to describe the bestsellers in detail. 

First up was the Bavarian Cream, which was a glazed donut with a chocolate shell and a whipped frosting on the inside.

“The cream is rich and the whipped consistency of the icing pairs well with the fluffiness of the donut,” said donut expert Emma Anderson.

Next was the Sweet Pig donut, which employees said was their most popular donut by far. The donut has a maple glaze and is topped with cooked bacon bits. While bold in concept, the flavors worked well together. 

“While the concept doesn’t sound like it would be delicious, the donut is of such high quality that it comes together nicely,” said Eva Watson.

Lastly, we had the chocolate sprinkles donut. While it seemed basic at first glance, the texture Heirloom donuts brings to their donuts elevates this classic.

Heirloom Donut’s best quality was the fluffiness of their donuts, while I believe HERO’s donuts were airy, it felt like Heirloom had an added layer of fluffiness. As for a critique, while the donuts were fluffy the flavors were rich which made it difficult to get through more than one donut. 

Ranking:

1. Bavarian Cream
2. Chocolate Sprinkles
3. Sweet Pig

Overall ranking: 9/10

Final Stop: Tim Hortons in Newnan

Donuts Tried: Honey-Dipped, Blueberry Sour Cream, and Strawberry Cream

Tim Hortons was the newest shop we visited, having just had its official ribbon cutting on June 30. 

We began with the honey-dipped donut, which had a light flavor and a good amount of sweetness. 

“The flavor is similar to a glazed donut with just a hint of honey-the perfect amount without being overpowering,” said Julia Gorski.

Next was the Blueberry Sour Cream, which had a strong blueberry flavor and a cake-like consistency. While being a tasty flavor, this donut lacked a bit of the moistness that we saw with previous donuts.

The Strawberry Cream had a chilled, pudding-like cream and strawberry glaze. The flavor was pleasant, but felt very average compared to what we had previously eaten.

“The filling was nice and smooth, but the actual donut had a very standard taste,” said Emma Anderson. 

Ranking:

1. Honey-Dipped
2. Blueberry Sour Cream
3. Strawberry Cream

Overall score: 6/10

While we may have left feeling like we were on the verge of a sugar-induced coma, the journey was worth it for the favorites we found along the way. Heirloom impressed us with its incredibly fluffy texture, while HERO had an airier, lighter texture. Donut Worry had standout cronut and red velvet donuts, and Tim Hortons had classic options for those who like to keep things simple. 

Our hypothesis that we would find some delicious donut shops in our community was confirmed. We highly recommend giving each stop a try, with the possibility of new-found favorites on the horizon.