The holiday season is the perfect time to bundle up at home with your favorite snack (we vote a doughnut) and re-watch some Christmas movie classics. A Christmas Story, A Charlie Brown Christmas… Elf. Oh is Elf not a Christmas tradition for your family? Well maybe it should be, it might not hold the old-world quality of those other movies but it’s probably a fixture of your actual childhood.
In 2023, Buddy is as much a Christmas figure as Scrooge. Maybe more!
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Elf, Krispy Kreme is unveiling three new doughnut flavors that pay homage to Jon Favreau’s Christmas classic. From now until an unspecified limited time (we’re going to assume the year’s end? Or like… Christmas?) Krispy Kreme fans can pick up the new flavors in a special Elf-themed dozen box alongside the returning Santa Belly Doughnut.
We picked up a dozen to rank and review every flavor. Since the Santa Belly Doughnut is sold alongside the new trio, we went ahead and decided to rank and review that doughnut as well. Let’s dive in!
4. Santa Belly Doughnut
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
I’m not only ranking the Santa Belly Doughnut in last place because it isn’t inspired by the movie, but because, returning favorite or not, this was simply my least favorite doughnut.
The doughnut here is unglazed but topped with red icing and filled with Cookies & Kreme filling. The doughnut is soft, airy, and chewy, and the cream filling has a subtle chocolate flavor to it. The chocolate notes are a bit too subtle though — this mostly comes across as tasting like cream filling with some texture to it.
The Bottom Line:
I think the reason this has become a favorite amongst Krispy Kreme fans is because it’s cute, not because it tastes particularly good.
3. Christmas Lights Doughnut
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
While I like the design of this doughnut, it doesn’t offer much of a spin on any existing flavors in the Krispy Kreme bakecase. It’s purely decorative.
The doughnut is glazed with a chocolate icing spread with some green icing drizzle and rainbow sprinkles. In the center of the doughnut is a chocolate-flavored Elf piece. Altogether, it’s a great chocolate-glazed doughnut with a fun design.
But if you’ve had any Krispy Kreme doughnuts with chocolate glaze, you’ve already had this flavor.
The Bottom Line:
A purely cosmetic spin on a Krispy Kreme classic. It is delicious though, so we’re not saying it isn’t worth a pickup.
2. Buddy Snow Globe Doughnut
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Now this is what I’m talking about! Here we have a glazed doughnut based dipped in sweet sugar cookie light blue icing with one-half sprinkles and one-half powdered sugar with a chocolate Elf piece on top.
The chocolate piece is forgettable, but the rest of this doughnut is delicious. The mix of sprinkles and powdered sugar offers two different experiences in one — the former being mostly texture but the latter a nice touch of extra sweetness.
The Bottom Line:
Worth picking up and almost as good as our number-one pick. Almost.
1. Buddy Makes Breakfast Doughnut
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
This doughnut is a must-buy. On top of a glazed doughnut sits cake batter-flavored spaghetti-shaped butter creme, mini-M&Ms, and a maple drizzle. Each bite gives a medley of sweet flavors: a sugary glaze, the vanilla notes of the buttercream, a burst of chocolate, and a nice earthy slightly floral maple component that wraps all the flavors together.
It’s easily my current favorite doughnut in Krispy Kreme’s whole line.
The Bottom Line:
A must-have for Krispy Kreme fans and anyone who loves great doughnuts. This one is worth a trip to Krispy Kreme before year’s end.
