Main Street News

Ugly Donut Co. Brings Specialty Crafted Donuts to Stanfordville

By Published On: June 27th, 2024

Glynis Carpenter stumbled upon the idea to start Ugly Donut Co by accident. 

While she doesn’t necessarily have a sweet tooth, per se, if she’s going to pick up a sweet treat, it’s going to be a donut. Her 11-year-old son, who inherited his love of donuts from Glynis, recently asked her for ‘special’ donuts for his birthday. When Glynis struggled to find a place close enough to her home in Stanfordville, NY, that offered specialty, yeast donuts, she decided that she might as well make them herself. 

Glynis lived in Brooklyn for seven years and has traveled to major cities all over the world for over 15 years as an advertising and fashion photographer (you can see this work at glyniscarpenter.com). During that time, she’s learned a thing or two about working creatively … and about tasty donuts.

“After a lot of experimenting and many conversations with my sister, a successful chef and restaurant owner, I began making donuts that taste amazing, but look a bit … we’ll say … homemade,” Glynis explained. 

Glynis’ sister, Lexy She, runs a successful Asian-fusion restaurant in the Atlanta, GA, area called She Craft Co. and has provided invaluable guidance for Glynis throughout the process of opening Ugly Donut Co. 

“She’s been fun to bounce ideas off,” Glynis said. “We talk about potential flavor combinations and what works together and what doesn’t.” 

Glynis hosted a donut pop-up at her sister’s restaurant for two weekends in June. For the event, she collaborated with her sister to create a butterfly peach glazed donut in honor of the butterfly peach tea on the menu at She Craft Co. 

“She’s been a huge help. I called her when I was preparing for my first farmers market. I didn’t make nearly as many donuts as she suggested, and I sold out within an hour and a half,” Glynis mused.

Ugly Donut Co currently offers catering and pick-up only, but Glynis is open to what the future holds. Ugly Donut Co also has a booth at the Bear Creek Farm Farmers Market in Bangall, which takes place every other Saturday from 8:30am to 1pm.

Why “ugly”?

When Glynis began working on her recipe, her husband joked that they looked very ‘homemade,’ to put it politely. 

“Often, the test batches just would not hold their shapes as they cooked. They looked like amoebas or clouds,” Glynis sais. “I decided I liked the lightness of a softer dough. The name also allows me to be playful and embrace the trials of being a self-taught baker.”

The anatomy of a donut

The dough is made the day before and rises overnight in the fridge to allow the flavor to develop. It’s a classic yeasted brioche, but with whole wheat flour added for more texture. 

Glynis laughs, “We had some funny moments when I began experimenting with my dough recipe. You have to be super careful to wrap the dough up really tight before it goes in the fridge to proof, otherwise, as it rises, it blomps out of the top of the bowls and oozes out everywhere. I have had nightmares about it.”

Because she dislikes the flavor of powdered sugar, Glynis worked hard to create and nail her unique “vanilla bean raw sugar glaze” recipe. She says, “It took a lot of trial and error. The base is organic cane sugar and raw panela sugar. I boil the glaze, so it’s lightly caramelized. The end result is velvety and rich, gooey when fresh, and really tasty.” 

The dark chocolate donut with blackout sprinkles is also a boiled glaze. “Meet the donut equivalent of a little black dress – classy yet irresistibly fun,” the Ugly Donut Co website states. “Its deep, rich glaze is like a midnight hug. Topped with chocolate sprinkles, this donut proves even your sweet tooth can have a dark side, and you’ll love every deliciously mysterious bite.” The donut is also available with naturally-colored starfetti sprinkles as well for those who like a little color on top of their sweet treats. 

Also on regular rotation is the spiced ginger cookie donut. Glynis is working on perfecting a buckwheat brown sugar donut, which will be gluten-free. 

In addition to these classic options, Ugly Donut Co also offers a rotating list of seasonal, specialty flavors. Current options include lemon and local honey, butterfly Earl Grey tea, lime and toasted coconut, and peach crumble. 

“I’m cooking to my taste and experimenting with interesting and dynamic flavors that I hope will appeal to other people, too.”

Connecting community one donut at a time

Glynis sources products locally whenever possible to ensure the best flavor and support her community. When she can’t source locally, she uses organic or sustainably-produced products. She gets her eggs from her neighbors across the street and sources local milk from Ronnybrook Farm in Pine Plains or from Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy in Arlington. She also uses local honey and utilizes seasonal fruit as it’s available. 

She’s also super excited to be a part of the tight-knit community in Stanfordville. “Stanfordville is and should be proud of itself right now because of how everyone came together to build our amazing new playground, and we also have this great new Bear Creek Farm Farmers Market,” Glynis said. “I’m so proud to be in this lovely mid-Hudson Valley area with all of these incredible people doing incredible things.” 

Glynis isn’t sure what her long-term goals with Ugly Donut Co are just yet, but she’s looking forward to seeing where it goes. 

“I’m enjoying it, and people seem to be really excited about it. I’ve heard a lot of ‘this is the best donut I’ve ever had,’ which is such an amazing compliment. It’s been fun, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.” •

To learn more about Ugly Donut Co. visit its website at uglydonut.co or follow on Instagram at @uglydonutco.