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Hot, made-to-order doughnuts from a mall kiosk

The mini-cake doughnuts are about a third larger than a Dunkin Donuts Munchkin.

Mini-doughnuts at the Dapper Doughnut at Plymouth Meeting Mall.
Mini-doughnuts at the Dapper Doughnut at Plymouth Meeting Mall.Read moreMICHAEL KLEIN / Staff

What's behind that new, made-to-order doughnut kiosk outside LEGO Land at Plymouth Meeting Mall?

On the cusp of 40, Berwyn couple Janet Malin, an executive at Urban Outfitters, and her husband, Josh Morey, who co-owns an IT company, had an entrepreneurial itch.

"We were looking for the next step in our life," Malin said. "We both really love what we do. We thought: 'How can we do something fun and tap into a lot of things happening in the world — obviously, food being one of them.'"

Then it occurred to them:

"He loves doughnuts," she said.

"Sweets and treats," he said.

"And I love a really good product," she said.

"There had to be a solution out there for doughnuts, with delicious flavors, that you could just grab and eat without having an overindulgence," he said, sounding every bit the IT professional.

Online, amid a sea of franchises, he found the Dapper Doughnut, which started three years ago in Las Vegas. The couple bought in, and their kiosk — which replaced a sushi stand — opened just before New Year's.

The process is simple: Batter, fed into the end of a machine, is dropped into hot oil, where it takes shape before it's cooked and drained.

The doughnuts are — in Morey's words — "dressed light" in 14 toppings, such as cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, s'mores, blueberry lemon, PB&J, and chocolate sprinkle. Note that these are mini-cake doughnuts — about a third larger than a Dunkin Donuts Munchkin.

They're sold in quantities of 6 ($4.99), 12 ($7.99), 24 ($14.99), and 48 ($27.99).

Coffee and (soon) doughnut shakes round out the menu.