Celebrate National Doughnut Day

From baked to fried, glazed and dipped, small ones or bigger than the palm of your hand, doughnuts come in all shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. Today we’re celebrating National Doughnut Day.

Score a free doughnut

Be sure to hit your favorite doughnut shop and pick up these freebies:

Dunkin’ Donuts — Get a free doughnut when you purchase any beverage
Krispy Kreme — Get a free doughnut of any variety, no purchase necessary.
Shipley Do-nuts — Visit participating locations before noon for a free glazed doughnut and small coffee
LaMar’s Donuts — Get a free doughnut, choose from any doughnut with a hole; no purchase neccesary
Tim Hortons — Get a free doughnut with any purchase when you say “Happy National Doughnut Day” when placing your order (U.S. Tim Hortons Cafe & Bake Shops only)
Entenmann’s — Enter their sweepstakes for a chance to win a year’s supply of doughnuts

With the new trends in ingredients, glazes and toppings, the simple glazed doughnut seems like a thing of the past compared to these works of art. But don’t get us wrong. Sometimes a perfectly simple glazed doughnut hits the spot.

Doughnut trends

In the past two to three years, doughnuts have soared to a newfound popularity. What are we seeing in terms of trendy doughnut ingredients? There’s fresh fruits, freeze-dried fruits and the classic toasted nuts, sprinkles and citrus peels. But we’re also seeing these curious combos:

Bacon: The saltiness and savoriness of crispy bacon sprinkled atop a sweet doughnut screams trendy, as we all know bacon is now found in almost everything.
Childhood cereals: Who wouldn’t love a frosted doughnut smashed in Cap’n Crunch?
Edible flowers: Not only do they look delicate and gorgeous, but depending on the flower, the doughnut’s flavor is also enhanced. Rose petals are a favorite and add a fragrant aroma.

Where to eat doughnuts in the US

Suggested by some of our favorite food bloggers, here’s the inside scoop on where to grab a doughnut (or a dozen).

David Dial of Spiced recommends heading to Atlanta and visiting Sublime Doughnuts, while Kelly Vass of Kelly Bakes recommends Federal Donuts in Philadelphia so much she even worked there. Head to Chicago for a dozen Do-Rite Donuts, suggests Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert. And rumor has it that on Martha’s Vineyard there’s a spot called Back Door Donuts, where the back door of a daytime bakery opens from around 7 p.m. until midnight (or whenever the doughnuts run out), serving up fresh, warm doughnuts to a line of hungry tourists and locals.