Local treats put to the test for National Doughnut Day

Sweet!

It’s National Doughnut Day.

What better excuse do you need to indulge in those glazed circles of goodness or sticky slabs of maple-bacon wonder?

Dunkin’ Donuts is giving away free doughnuts on Friday with purchase of a beverage.

Frost Dessert Lounge is having a doughnut eating competition at 6 p.m. at the Mill Creek Town Center shop at 15217 Main St.

Other doughnut masters, such as Henry’s Donuts and Tyler’s Donut House, will carry on doing what they do best: Making delicious delights at affordable prices.

The Herald features department picked up holey treats from Tyler’s in Everett, Henry’s Donuts in Mukilteo, Oosterwyk’s Dutch Bakery in Marysville and the newly opened Frost in downtown Everett.

We put workers in the newsroom to a blind taste test. Full disclosure: The test was so unscientific you might think Homer Simpson was running the show.

Categories were glazed, cake, maple bar and specialty.

National Doughnut Day, the first Friday in June, was started in 1938 to honor Salvation Army workers who delivered doughnuts to soldiers.

The fried dough has gone gourmet and cross-pollinated with other breakfast goodies. Heard of the cronut? Frost has the froissant, which is croissant dough in doughnut form.

And who’d ever thunk bacon would such a popular topping on doughnuts? Of course, bacon is good on everything. D’oh!

The results?

In the Herald taste test, Tyler’s and Henry’s, which also has locations on Broadway in Everett and in Marysville, tied for first place, with each receiving eight votes. Oosterwyk’s and Frost tied for second with four votes each.

Karl’s Bakery &Cafe in downtown Everett also got a vote.

Greg Ruthruff, Herald paginator, scolded us for not including Karl’s in the mix, though it certainly didn’t stop him from partaking.

“I tried four different brands,” Ruthruff said. “Karl’s is still my favorite.”

He even went back for seconds.

Karl’s got a vote in the Herald’s Facebook poll asking readers for their favorite doughnut fix. Henry’s received the majority of votes: a perfect dozen.

Homer would be proud.

Herald newsroom feedback

Glazed: “I ate the glazed, and preferred Tyler’s and secondly Henry’s. Light and sweet, but not overly so.” — Chris Winters, reporter

Specialty: “I chose the Henry’s doughnut. It wasn’t the prettiest on the plate but it had the best flavor … and was covered in bacon.” — Lia Toupin, multimedia sales consultant.

Maple bar: “I truly enjoyed the maple bar from the Tyler’s. It slowly melted in your mouth as you chewed without leaving the fryer oil taste behind.” — Katie Sybouts, marketing assistant/NIE coordinator.

Plain cake: “I don’t like all the extra sugar toppings. So my taste test of the plains was really a baseline examination of the dough. Hands down, the winner was from Henry’s. It wasn’t greasy and not too sweet. With a little spice, the flavor was good. Oosterwyk’s was No. 2 choice. It was a bit sweeter than I prefer, but still had a good flavor. No. 3 went to Frost, which doesn’t have a plain cake, so I peeled off the glaze. Tyler’s, though crunchy, was too greasy.” — Gale Fiege, reporter

Jessi Loerch, web producer, weighed in on all four brands of maple bars:

Oosterwyk’s: “Extremely good. Glaze wasn’t overly sweet. Thick fluffy doughnut.”

Henry’s: “Glaze nice and thick but a smidge too sweet. Doughnut dense and chewy.”

Tyler’s: Good balance of glaze and doughnut.

Frost: “Tasty glaze. Best flavor of all the glazes.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.