The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
Whether it be an early morning post-hockey practice treat as a kid, or something that gets bought on road trips as an adult, Timbits from Tim Hortons are among the most Canadian pastry you can get.
And with that, there are a few mainstay Timbits that will always be in the mix, such as the honey or sour cream glazed, the powdered jelly and more.
But Tim Hortons has been around for a long, long time and like so many restaurants, the menu is ever-changing.
This means, like donuts, there has been a whole slew of Timbits that have both come and then sadly gone from Tim Hortons.
And so, using a list of Timbits of days gone by put out by the company, I've found the ones that I think, using my acute fast food writer mind, should come back. Oh, and a few that I think need to hit the road ASAP.
Timbits That Need To Come Back
Old Fashioned Cinnamon
I'll be straight up and say that the Old Fashioned donut is just not a good Tim Hortons treat — a spoiler alert for later in this article.
But having a nice little bite of an old-fashioned cinnamon Timbit, now that sounds like a delicious treat. Potentially reminiscent of one of those bags of cinnamon donuts you get at the fair. It's too bad we don't have something like this nowadays.
While we don't know when exactly this one was available or came off the market, much like the other ones on this list, it would be nice to munch into some sweet, cinnamony goodness.
Cruller
I realize I might be in the minority here, but the Honey Cruller is my favourite donut at Tim Hortons. I love the airy, sweet, lightness of them. They're just so good.
So, when I learned there used to be a Timbit version of my fave donut, I instantly yearned for a day I could give it a try.
If there were a whole package of little, light-fluffy Timbits with that sweet and sticky Honey Cruller coating, I would be popping those suckers like Elvis eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
It would be everything I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I would be in hog heaven. It actually is making me consider moving to the United Kingdom because their Tim Hortons website lists them as available.
So please, Tim Hortons, bring these back!
Lemon Cake
For baking, pastries and treats in general, I think lemon is an underrated flavour. While not as much of a fan favourite as chocolate or caramel, I'm a huge fan of a lemon bar or a lemon meringue pie.
So, to hear that Tim Hortons used to have a Lemon Cake Timbit sort of knocked my socks off.
While I can imagine that the Lemon flavouring might not be as good as my grandma's lemon pie, having such a unique flavour to bounce off the heavier ones that exist in the typical Timbit variety pack would have been awesome.
Heck, I'm sure it would be a welcome return to the Tim's family. It would be like the misfit prodigal son returning!
Spiced Apple Filled
On a fall day, sipping on a warm Tim Hortons coffee and crushing a Timbit — or ten — feels very, very fitting.
However, it seems one of the most autumnal treats you could get from Timmies is no longer on the menu.
Not a lot of details are available about what this was, but I can say with confidence that this would be more fitting for the fall than a pumpkin wearing a brown tweed jacket and sipping an apple cider.
This seems like it would be a sort of apple turnover meets Timbit and I honestly think that sounds absolutely amazing.
Maybe we can try to petition Tim's and get this to return this fall? If so, I think we'd all be a bit better off.
Chocolate Peanut Crunch
As for pure decadence, this one looks like it would be so incredibly tasty but maybe too sweet for anything more than a few bites.
Again, it's hard to know exactly what this special edition Timbit was, but with a name like that, we can make some safe assumptions.
The biggest is that wonderful pairing of chocolate and peanut that just absolutely works basically all the time. I mean, at least for me.
As for the crunch, maybe this means peanuts were baked into it, similar to the walnuts in the Walnut Crunch donut? If so, that sounds like a really tasty treat that would have some interesting textures for sure.
Timbits That Need To Go
Old Fashioned Plain
Listen, I don't want to beat a dead horse. But I'm well on the record for my disdain of the old-fashioned plain donut. It doesn't have flavour, it's dry and just isn't good.
And that goes for the Timbit as well. As a matter of fact, it just seems like a little piece of bread that you give your dog. Actually, if you look up the #oldfashionedplain on Instagram, you see way more dogs enjoying them than humans.
Ultimately, this is anecdotal, and apparently, Atlantic Canada really like them, according to Tim Hortons.
But for me? I think they could have been tossed off the menu yesterday and I wouldn't bat an eye.
Birthday Cake
A tray of Birthday Cake Timbits.
Okay, I'm going to rustle some feathers with this one, but I'm going to stand by my choice.
First off, "Birthday Cake" isn't a real flavour. Obviously, any cake could be a birthday cake! But, if I give them the benefit of the doubt, I do understand it as a vehicle for confetti.
But, that being said, I find the birthday cake Timbits seem to be pumped full of some kind of artificial flavour that really makes them taste extra "birthday cake-y." And while that might not actually be the case, it does taste like it.
I also think that these ones tend to be among the sweetest in the box and just almost have an overpowering essence when you're sampling multiple 'bits.
So, hopefully, this article can inspire some Tim Hortons fans out there to petition the company to bring them back.
Or maybe, more likely, sit and wish for a time machine to go and give these bites a try.