My parents owned a gas station when I was a kid. While they were busy tending to business, my sister and I would scrounge up a handful of coins from the mechanics and walk a block and a half down the street to Palm’s Bakery for a few donuts, which, in my memory, were the best in the world.
To this day, I love donuts, and I almost equally love to see how different bakeries make the classics, delighting in finding one that’s just right: crispy, yeasty and sweet but not too sweet. It’s a frivolous treat with a million variations.
Beating a Dead Horse
Heather Greenwood, owner and chef for the new donut bakery in Palmer, Dead Horse Donuts, is an interesting donut frontwoman. She told me a little bit about her story when I visited on the last day of her new business’ soft opening in October.
“I was working on the slope as a baker,” she said. “And, it’s funny because Deadhorse (Alaska) is actually where I learned to make donuts.”
“It’s also ‘beating a dead horse’ because I had the donut food truck and now it’s coming back to life, so now I’m beating that dead horse.”
She’s referring to her very popular former food truck, “I Dough Know,” which used to park by the Three Bears in Palmer. She then opened Feather and Flour in 2022, which served upscale brunch and dinners that showcased Alaska producers. This fall, Heather soft-launched her newest business iteration in the same building as Feather and Flour, but getting back in the donut game.
“I found that people are crazy for donuts,” Greenwood said.
“Now I’m just hoping that I can make a sustainable business with a product that people like, and it’s still a product that I believe in,” she said. “So it’s hopefully going to be the best of all worlds.”
This made sense. The plot twist though? A moment later, Greenwood admitted to being, “not a donut person,” with a laugh and maybe a hint of reticence.
As a donut person myself, I was taken aback, until she explained.
“I didn’t like all the powdered sugar and glazes.” she said. “They always taste so artificial. You know? They taste like they’re from a tub. It was never my thing.”
How Donuts Are Made
After tasting Heather’s very popular creations, I can definitely tell they’re made by “not a donut person,” and I very much mean that as a compliment.
The all-too-common sickly sweet glazes and over the top powdered sugar doesn’t do it for me either. In my opinion, and one I now know is shared by a real donut pro, those very common donut faux pas give the whole pastry a bad name.
So I asked Greenwood to tell me the difference between a Dead Horse Donuts donut and one you might find in the bakery area of a chain grocery store.
“Oh my gosh, so much,” she said with a laugh. “Just about everything. Many chains get their pastries pre-made and frozen, with fillings in giant tubs.”
“No shade to anyone doing that,” she added, before launching into a description of the work entailed to produce her creations, which are 100% made from scratch.
“We use 99% all organic flour. I make every single glaze myself with fresh fruit and the best ingredients I can find, and a lot of local Alaskan inspired things when I have them,” she said. “… I make all the cake donuts from scratch too. Hand cut every single one. They’re fried fresh every single day. No donuts are ever served the next day.”
“And obviously I like to do some fun, different flavors as well as classics.”
Taste Testing
There was a line when my friend and I arrived at Dead Horse Donuts around 8:15 a.m. We had plenty of time to select a half dozen from the menu and peek at what everyone else was ordering.
Finally, the woman in front of us wrapped up her order.
“I definitely want whatever that green thing is with ketchup on top,” she told the cashier, who proceeded to box up the raised matcha-frosted donut with local raspberry drizzle the woman had pointed to with a smile.
We ordered a mix of “fun ones” and the classics, as Heather recommended: a classic old fashioned, classic glazed ring, apple cider fritter, Almond Joy bar, the matcha raspberry and a blueberry lemon. We waited around the corner for the staff to box up our selection and then headed to the back dining area, making a stop for complimentary black coffee on our way (though they also offer a full espresso bar and coffee and tea menu).
Two of us certainly didn’t need six donuts, but we tasted and ranked them each with delighted, sticky-fingered anticipation. The dough was sturdy, sweet and yeasty with a very fresh-tasting fry. The frostings were original and packed with flavor without being overly sweet. The blueberry tasted slightly tart and tangy, just like our tundra bluebs. The “ketchup on top” of the matcha, aka raspberry jam, was unmistakably fresh and fruity.
The Almond Joy bar was my favorite for its not-too-sweet chocolate frosting topped with toasted coconut and almond slivers, while my friend preferred the apple cider fritter best because of its apple-forwardness, deep cinnamon flavor and pillowy texture. The old fashioned was crispy but a little on the dry side, and the only miss for us. (We later noticed the business receiving feedback on the Old Fashioned on social media with Greenwood replying to say she’d revisit it. I’m on the edge of my seat).
Rumblings About Price
Our half dozen donuts cost $28.91 including Palmer’s 3% sales tax, the 7% “soft opening” discount and a small tip. We also saw Greenwood addressing “some rumblings” about the price (at between $4-$5 per individual donut) later on social media.
“Food costs (and honestly, everything else) are extremely high right now, and after going through the heartbreak of closing a previous business, I’ve learned how important it is to price things sustainably,” she said, “If I could give them away, I honestly would.”
It’s true that $30 would have been very out of reach for my sister and I at Palm’s, but times are different now. And I also observed a lot of heart and joy in the experience Greenwood has put together for her customers, which appears to be a gift back to the community where she was born and raised.
“I can’t imagine running a business anywhere else,” she said. “Palmer is home, and I love the community.”
Personally, I’ll be back to see how her old fashioned evolves, but in terms of which to try when you visit, I think I would take advice from the pro.
“I feel like people don’t usually gravitate towards the fun ones like the blueberry lemon or fruity ones, but then once they have a bite, that’s what they come back for,” she said.
In the end it was clear that while Heather Greenwood may not be a “donut person,” she definitely makes donuts for people who are.
Jenny Weis writes for a variety of Alaska nonprofits and causes in between keeping up on Alaska's doughnut scene, sliding on snow, and gawking at cool plants and rocks along local trails.
