Donuts, Ranked

The yeast-raised, sugar-glazed ring is the template every other donut answers to; Krispy Kreme has served its Original Glazed hot off the line since its 1937 founding, lighting the 'Hot Now' sign when they emerge.

A filled round of pastry cream capped with chocolate glaze; it was designated the official doughnut of Massachusetts in 2003, cementing its status as an American classic.

A sour-cream or buttermilk cake donut fried so its craggy edges turn crisp while the center stays tender; its dense crumb is built for dunking in black coffee.

A rectangular yeast donut topped with maple icing, it's a fixture of Pacific Northwest and California doughnut cases and the archetypal 'bar' shape.

The square French-Creole fritter buried in powdered sugar and served at New Orleans' Café du Monde since 1862; it was named the official state doughnut of Louisiana in 1986.

A holeless yeast round injected with fruit jelly and rolled in sugar; simple and reliable, though the ratio of dough to filling is a lifelong gamble.

Made from choux (pâte à choux) rather than standard donut dough, its ridged rings fry up airy and custardy inside, a texture no other donut matches.

A filled Danish-style pastry slit to fan out like a claw, usually stuffed with almond paste; it eats more like a laminated pastry than a fried ring.

A cake donut made with reduced apple cider and rolled in cinnamon sugar, it's a seasonal fixture of Northeastern U.S. orchards and best eaten warm on-site.

A holeless Portuguese fried dough rolled in sugar, brought to Hawaii by plantation workers and celebrated on Malasada Day; Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu has made them since 1952.

An Italian fried dough, often piped with custard and dusted with sugar, traditionally eaten on St. Joseph's Day (March 19); great fresh but goes stale fast.

A rich Polish filled donut traditionally eaten before Lent on Fat Thursday and Pączki Day; the enriched dough and rose or plum jam make it heavier than a standard jelly donut.

Small fried dough balls drenched in honey syrup and cinnamon, among the oldest recorded Greek desserts with roots in antiquity; delicious but only in the first ten minutes before the syrup sogs them.

The punched-out centers sold as Tim Hortons Timbits (1976) and Dunkin' Munchkins (1973); perfectly snackable, but they're literally the leftover holes marketed back to you.

Dominique Ansel's trademarked croissant-doughnut hybrid drew hours-long lines and scalpers after its May 2013 debut, spawning a wave of greasy, half-laminated imitators that were more social-media stunt than pastry.