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If you think the tempting array of donuts on display at your local bakery is a lot, imagine if it included varieties you’ve never heard of before. There’s a whole world of sweet fried dough in America, and many local specialties never make it out of its state or even town.
These regional donuts are worth getting your hands on — if you can.
Region: Idaho
Leave it to Idaho to put potatoes in their donuts. Plain mashed potatoes or dried potatoes are added to the donut dough before frying, giving them a tender texture. Spudnuts are usually shaped and topped in typical fashion, including pink frosting and sprinkles, or jelly-filled circles, but it’s the not-so-secret-ingredient in the dough that makes these unique.
Region: Midwest
Paczki are Polish donuts traditionally eaten on Mardi Gras to use up all the butter, lard, and sweet stuff in the house before fasting for Lent. In parts of the Midwest with large Polish heritage populations, including Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland, you’ll find long lines at bakeries on Paczki Day. They’re round and extra rich, often studded with raisins and glazed, or filled with anything from apricot to Nutella.
Region: Hawaii
Malasadas are donuts brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. Like paczki, they’re usually eaten on Fat Tuesday, but you can get them year round now. They’re round with no hole, and rolled in sugar or other coatings like li hing (salty dried plum). Traditionally, they’re not filled, but of course you can get them filled too, with local flavors like creamy coconut haupia or passion fruit.
Region: New Orleans
Beignets are one of the long list of must-get foods when you visit New Orleans, and for good reason. The square-ish pillows of dough are light, fluffy, and absolutely piled with powdered sugar. (You will get the stuff all over you, but it’s all right because everyone else is, too.) Cafe du Monde is the famous spot that’s open early until late, but locals usually suggest that better versions can be found elsewhere. Wherever you get them, they’ll be tasty.
Region: West Virginia
Don’t worry: There’s no hot dog in these donuts, despite the confusing name. Instead, it’s a long donut cut down the middle, so it kind of looks like a hot dog bun. A filling of cream is piped down the middle instead of a sausage, and the whole thing gets a dusting of powdered sugar. Get them plain or drizzled with chocolate sauce or even fruit.
Region: Northeast
Apple cider donuts are a sure sign of autumn in New England. Many apple orchards that allow people to pick their own also have freshly fried apple cider donuts, and their scent entices practically everyone to buy some. True to their name, there’s apple cider in the batter, giving them a hint of apple flavor. A heavy coating of cinnamon sugar is a must for these soft, hot-from-the-fryer donuts.
Region: Pennsylvania
German and Pennsylvania Dutch communities in south central Pennsylvania enjoy fastnacht on Shrove Tuesday, another name for the day before Lent. The idea that you use up all the fattening stuff in your house before fasting is the same as other cultures that eat donuts on this day. Fastnacht tend to be bigger and a little heavier than typical donuts, and are sometimes made with potatoes in the dough. Once fried, they get a coating of sugar or can be eaten plain with butter and jam.
Region: New York City
Sure, cronuts have spread to all parts of the country by now, but they can be traced back to one bakery in NYC: Dominique Ansel Bakery. In 2013, its namesake baker put out cronuts for the first time, and they soon went viral. The pastry is a cross between a croissant and a donut, so it’s rich, light, flaky, and decadent all at the same time. These fancy pants donuts are now topped and filled with equally fancy ingredients, which feels like a very New York kind of thing.
Region: New Mexico
Biscochitos (sometimes spelled bizcochito) are shortbread-like cookies flavored with anise and coated in lots of cinnamon sugar. They’re incredibly popular in New Mexico, especially around Christmas. Donut makers were inspired by those cookies to turn the flavors into a fried treat, which you can now get at many donut shops in the state. They’ve got the same mild licorice flavor, a hefty dose of cinnamon sugar, and sometimes a drizzle of icing.
Region: Wisconsin
Crullers in parts of the Midwest, especially Wisconsin, are very different from the crullers sold elsewhere. Most people think of a light, airy, fluted round donut with a hole in it, which is also known as a French cruller. But at many bakeries in the Midwest, it’s a bar-shaped cake donut with a rough, craggy exterior that soaks up lots of glaze. It’s hefty, crumbly, and sometimes flavored or half dipped in chocolate. Some of the best are sold at Grebe’s Bakery in Milwaukee that’s been frying them since 1937.
Region: Massachusetts
Boston cream pie, a two-layer vanilla sponge cake filled with custard and topped with chocolate frosting, debuted way back in the 19th century. Naturally, it became so popular that other Boston cream creations started popping up, including donuts. Sure, you can get them around the country now, but their city of origin is forever tied to their name. Who can resist a round donut full of vanilla custard and crowned with chocolate?
Region: Midwest
What many people call a bar donut, Midwesterners will likely call a long john. It’s a long, yeasted rectangle of spongy fried dough with any toppings you can imagine. Maple bacon bars are a type of long john if you move them to the Midwest, for example. They’re commonly filled with custard or cream, then topped with a swipe of icing and optional sprinkles.
Region: Texas
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the donuts. Some shops in the Lone Star State (and further afield) fry ring donuts that are as big as your head. They’re usually topped with simple ingredients like glaze, frosting, or sprinkles since they’re pretty unruly to handle much. You cut them into pieces like you would a pie, or rip them apart before attacking. They make for a fun birthday cake stand-in for anyone who doesn’t like cake.
Region: Maine
Maine is famous for its blueberry crop, so it only makes sense that people eat the berries every way they can, including in donuts. The berries are mixed right into the cakey donut dough, and unlike the little food coloring bits found in some chains' “blueberry” donuts, the best donut shops use real berries. They’ve usually got a thin coating of glaze, but if you’re lucky, you can find ones with bright purple blueberry glaze.