The Cookie Jar: A Haven for Delicious Donuts and Pastries in Portland

Rolling through on my way down the coast and saw this little place. Some of the best baked goods I've ever had. Tender, moist, not overly sweet. Apple cider donut holes 10/10. I also had a flakey pastry stuffed with apple crumble. That was equally delish!!

We were in town visiting from Orange County, California, and we had the best donuts that we had ever had in our lives! We went to the lighthouse to catch sunrise and stopped by on our way to New Hampshire. We also enjoyed some of the fresh dairy from Oakhurst Farms that is just not as accessibly fresh in California!

On a day trip to Portland, one of our main goals was donut acquisition. We've heard tell that Portland has many good donut shops, but we could only try one. We settled on The Cookie Jar, as sadly there are only so many donuts one can eat in a single road trip. We were not disappointed. The people were super friendly in helping us navigate the massive piles of donuts on the shelves. We settled on chocolate glazed and chocolate coconut. I couldn't quite bring myself to try the molasses donut, as it was not a sure thing. The lady behind the counter recommended a donut hole version so we could try it. Sold. The chocolate and coco-choco were excellent donuts. - Dense, with the exact right amount of glaze. - Sweet, but not too sweet. - The size and weight of your friggin head Check, check, and check. They were far better than the average donut, and really reminded us of donuts from when we were kids. The molasses donut hole on the other hand was above and beyond. I absolutely loved it. If I had not just consumed my body weight in donut, I would have gone back in just to get another. Not to be missed. If you're in the market for donuts or other baked sweets, this is a great place just outside of town. It's easy to get in and out of, with on site parking which is a huge bonus compared to some of the others. I don't know if it's the best donut in the Portland area, but I'm not sure I need to try another place to find out.

I tried the molasses doughnut today. It was insanely delicious, but also insanely sweet. I wish they would make them without the glaze. Update: I found out today that they do make them without glaze. Yay!

So many wonderful pastries...the smells and tastes of the pies take me back to my Nana's kitchen. Was surprised there were things like chicken stew... it was excellent! Service was wonderful!

Whenever we are in Maine, this bakery is a must. Delicious donuts, cinnamon rolls (iced or glazed) and this trip mini eclairs. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but call ahead to place an order for pick up. The staff is friendly and responsive. A few blocks from the Portland Headlight.

Stopped in on the way back from the Portland head light and loved everything I tried here! I tried a few donut hole flavors: blueberry glazed, chocolate glazed and regular glazed. Also tried the cheese danish and blueberry danish. Loved them all - delicious. Everyone was super friendly. Great stop!

2 words: Cream Horns. They are HUGE and the absolute best I have ever had. They also have great doughnuts, scones, turnovers and cookies. The people are kind and helpful. This is not a trendy hot spot, it's been been around for decades. They are bakery that makes amazingly good classic style pastries.

Best donut holes I've ever had. Great variety of baked pastries and other dessert items. Staff is so friendly. A must try!

I've lived in Portland for a long, long time and always skipped over The Cookie Jar, thinking (in my snobbish Portland way) that it was "good for SoPo" but not really "good." OMG I was so wrong, and am now apparently doomed forever to crave their pastries. I shared an eclair and a cinnamon roll and almost challenged my dining companion to arm wrestle for his half. Gave him the scone, which was good enough, and we compromised. Next time, I'm heading straight for the Bismarcks and turnovers. Yum!