The Chef's Notebook: Apple Season at The Milk Pail

If fall in the Hamptons had a scent, it would be apple cider doughnuts frying at The Milk Pail. That warm, cinnamon-sugar perfume seems to hang in the air long after you’ve left the orchard, carried home on your sweater and tucked into your memory. For locals, this season isn’t just about cooler nights or pulling on boots for the first time. It’s about slowing down after the chaos of summer, gathering with family and celebrating the small traditions that tie us to this land; apple picking, hayrides, pumpkin patches and, of course, cider doughnuts still warm from the fryer.

Every East Ender has their place (that farm stand or orchard they return to year after year) and for many, it’s The Milk Pail in Water Mill. With its beautiful orchards, farm store packed with cider, cheeses and baked goods, The Milk Pail has become a fall pilgrimage, a rite of passage for locals and visitors alike.

Apples have been part of our diet since the first settlers planted seeds in the New World, and few families embody that tradition like the Halseys. In the 1640s, the Halsey family began farming the land surrounding Mecox Bay in Water Mill and Bridgehampton. More than 350 years later, Amy Halsey carries that legacy forward as the 11th generation to farm this soil, tending orchards and running The Milk Pail Fresh Market & U-Pick.

The Milk Pail began in 1969 as a small farm store where John and Evelyn Halsey sold vegetables and milk from their cows. They planted their first apple orchard the following spring, and those trees are now part of a thriving, award-winning orchard that draws families from across the East End each fall.

For me, The Milk Pail is more than just a place to pick apples and buy doughnuts. During the pandemic, when I was pregnant with my son Charlie and had no work, Jennifer hired me to bake cookies for their store. I’ll never forget how grateful I felt for that opportunity, or how much I wish I had memorized their cowboy cookie recipe. It was a kindness I’ll carry with me always, and it deepened my connection to this community.

The orchard is also a personal landmark for my family. It’s where my oldest learned to ride his bike, where we’ve picked apples together and where the smell of warm cider doughnuts has become a seasonal marker as reliable as the turning leaves.

This fall, you can take a piece of that tradition home and turn it into something extra special: an apple cider donut sundae. The best part? Every ingredient comes straight from The Milk Pail.

Apple Cider Donut Sundae

Makes 6 sundaes with leftover apple syrup

Shop at The Milk Pail:

1 small bag of apple chips

1 pint of ice cream (salted caramel or vanilla recommended)

1 small bag of apples

½ dozen apple cider doughnuts

Apple Syrup:

4 cups cubed apples

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 tablespoon butter

¼ cup apple cider

½ teaspoon cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Place apples, sugar, butter, cider, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar melts.

Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes — no longer, or the apples will get too soft. Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

To assemble: On top of a warmed cider doughnut, add a scoop of ice cream, drizzle with apple syrup and a generous spoonful of apples, and top with a handful of crunchy apple chips.