WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Emma Slater might be the most popular person in Chittenden County. That’s because she makes the most popular doughnuts in Chittenden County. And, although she’s called her business Twisted Halo Donuts, these sweet treats are devilishly good.
Slater’s claim to culinary fame started back in 2021. She moved back to Vermont during the pandemic and started working in the food industry. But, she decided to try her hand as a vendor at her hometown farmers market with the help of some friends.
“We wanted to make something that you couldn’t really find or easily find in Vermont,” she said. “We thought, what would be better than doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches?”
Turns out in doing so, she began proofing herself a new profession.
“Just kind of started honing my craft and learning that in a more professional sense since the pandemic,” she said.
Slater says the Shelburne Farmers Market served as an incubator to figure out what worked, and what didn’t.
“I think we made 8,000 doughnuts at the farmers market last year,” she said. “You really learn how to make doughnuts in any weather condition, you really get to know the recipes in that process.”
And, it gave her a chance to meet other vendors, who she now sources ingredients from — with flour from Nitty Gritty Grain Co. and flavors of the week based on what’s in season at local farms. But, fresh ingredients aren’t the only things that make these doughnuts shine.
“We usually try to mix the night before and do a long overnight ferment and it gives it a different crumb structure and I think more flavor,” explained Slater. Old-fashioned cake doughnuts, brioche and cinnamon sugar churros (that are more like French crullers) — for the most part, this divine doughnut maker does it all herself.
“Drink my espresso, I kind of get everything set up for the day and then try to be frying off as close as possible to opening so we can have the freshest doughnuts possible as well,” she said.
Now working out of a brick-and-mortar kitchen tucked in the back of Williston’s Champion Comics, Slater slings these sweet treats Wednesday through Sunday until they sell out. And, they will sell out, even though she makes hundreds per day. She sells her doughnuts at the Old Brick Store in Charlotte on Sundays, and they typically yield a line out the door.
“It’s kind of crazy what we’ve tried to pull off, and it seems to be working,” says Slater.
A rise to fame, and delicious doughnuts… made in Vermont.