BATESVILLE, Ind. – Schmidt Bakery in Indiana, the family-owned shop known for its signature cherry pastry, has set a new record.
The Batesville bakery sold 82,908 Thing-A-Lings this past Presidents Day weekend. That's an increase of more than 30,000 from its record last year.
Schmidt Bakery keeps a sale tally on its back wall.
Part doughnut and part fritter, the Thing-A-Ling is a fried morsel stuffed with cherries and soaked in a pink glaze. It's sold every Presidents Day weekend – Friday through Monday, to be exact. The limited sale has sent thousands of people – and dollars – into the small city about an hour west of Cincinnati for decades.
Clem Schmidt, 76, has owned Schmidt Bakery since 1963 but started making his now famous cherry pastry in 1976. He said each year the bakery sells more Thing-A-Lings than the year prior.
“The first time, maybe we sold 45 dozen. Then 50 dozen. Then 150 dozen,” Schmidt said. “Last year we sold over 4,000 dozen. That’s 52,000 doughnuts.”
Watch the video below to see how Thing-A-Lings are made:
