What’s better than the first bite of a fresh, piping hot doughnut? The answer is nothing. Whether glazed, cake, frosted or filled, we love these decadent circular pastries for breakfast, dessert or anytime life calls for a delicious sugar rush.
So in honor of National Doughnut Day, we bring you our favorite holey treats from across the county (and one from our Canadian friends) so you can indulge in this holiday in your favorite city. And please tell us where to find your favorite doughnut in the comments because we can never get enough.
The Doughnut Vault Peanut Butter and Jelly
A classic combo is turned up to the max by Chicago’s Doughnut Vault, opened by Brendan Sodikoff of Gilt Bar. Delicious jelly surrounded by a peanut butter doughnut? Our mouths are literally watering.
Voodoo Doughnut Voodoo Doll
We love this quirky Portland, OR outpost for some of the looniest doughnuts around. But the favorite has to be the unique Voodoo Doll Doughnut, filled with raspberry jelly and topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake. The best part: all characteristics of these little guys are different.
Cafe Du Monde Beignets
Brought to Louisiana by the Acadians, no one serves up these fried pieces of powered sugar-covered dough better than New Orleans’ Cafe Du Monde. Take a break from the American version of the doughnut by tasting in one of its original forms.
Dough Blood Orange
We hate picking favorites, but this Brooklyn, NY shop slinging the slogan “We Fry in Bed-Stuy” is the best of the best. The Blood Orange doughnut is as close to perfection as it gets – crispy on the outside, soft and airy on the inside with a glaze that’s a flawless balance of sweet and tart.
Glory Hole Doughnuts Salted Caramel & Spicy Pecan
Besides having the best name for a doughnut shop ever, this Toronto bakery also produces a line of customers that reaches the door, and for good reason. The Salted Caramel & Spicy Pecan is so delicious, you better have a friend nearby to share so you don’t wolf the whole thing yourself.
Sublime Doughnuts Fresh Strawberry N Cream
A doughnut that eats like a sandwich without a beef patty in the middle? We’ll take it. And no one does it better than Kamal Grant’s Sublime Doughnuts in Atlanta. Don’t let its English muffin looks fool you – it’s just as sweet and decadent as the rest, filled with cream and the freshest strawberries.
Gourdough’s Big. Fat. Doughnuts. Funky Monkey
We adore Austin, TX for it’s eccentric neon signs and outdoor trailer park eateries. Though they just opened a brick-and-mortar location, we prefer to eat Gourdough’s Funky Monkey – a doughnut topped with grilled bananas and cream cheese icing with brown sugar – at the original site on South Lamar.