The MasterChef: Donuts in Buffalo a Must

If you ever find yourself visiting Buffalo, New York, your to-do list will probably include trying some of the great food we have around here.

We have tons of mom-and-pop restaurants, about a zillion pizza joints, and, of course, chicken wings, which were invented here in 1964.

With all the all the hype around savory food, sweets may be the last things on your mind, and you may not know where to get dessert. Well, friend, let me tell you – Paula’s Donuts is the place to go.

Paula’s Donuts started in 1996 and is a family owned donut bakery here in Buffalo, NY. There are three locations total, and all are buzzing with business.

Paula’s opens at 5:00 am every day and bakes its donuts fresh. Every one of them is hand cut and baked on location, and they are donated to local churches if all are not sold.

The quality donuts have earned themselves a bit of a reputation.

Paula’s Donuts was featured on an episode of Bizarre Foods Delicious Destinations in 2017, and even received a visit from Food Network’s Alton Brown in 2014.

Here’s what he had to say about it: “These donuts absolutely rank with some of the best I’ve ever had.

More specifically, their sour cream old-fashioned absolutely hits the mark. They’ve nailed it.” Gee, that’s high praise coming from a celebrity chef who has eaten food from all over the world!

Our palates aren’t as professional as Alton’s, but my family and I decided to head to Paula’s and share some of our favorites with you.

Paula’s Donuts has TONS of different donuts, but I was able to narrow the ones we ate down into four categories: Glazed donuts, jelly-filled donuts, cream-filled donuts, and specialty donuts.

Category 1: Glazed Donuts

When you think of glazed donuts, you probably think of whatever it was you bought from Krispy Kreme the other day. At Paula’s, they do glazed a little differently.

You can choose a classic Glazed Frycake, or a slightly sweeter version of that called the Glazed Honey Dip, which my little sister is nibbling on (above).

You can also go for Alton Brown’s favorite donut, the Glazed Sour Cream (above), which is seriously the sweetest, softest, richest donut I’ve ever had.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can go for a glazed red velvet donut (above), which is crunchy on the outside, rich and cakey on the inside, and, of course, deeply red.

It doesn’t stop there; Paula’s has a pretty long list of glazed flavors, including apple, orange juice, cherry, blueberry, and more.

Category 2: Jelly – Filled Donuts

My family never leaves Paula’s Donuts without a couple of their jelly-filled donuts.

They come covered in powdered sugar, sanding sugar,  frosting (which my little siblings are sharing in the photo) and even peanuts.

The jelly is strawberry or raspberry flavored.

One of the special jelly donuts is called the Black Forest donut, which is raspberry filled with chocolate frosting.

Whichever variation you get, you’re guaranteed a beautifully round, beautifully coated yeast donut that’s bursting with fruity jelly.

Category 3: Cream – Filled Donuts

My family’s favorite cream donuts are the Strawberry Shortcake donut and the Coconut Cream donut.

The Strawberry Shortcake donut is a big, round, powdered sugar – covered donut with sweet cream and strawberry jelly inside. It’s gooey, messy goodness.

The Coconut Cream, which my little brother particularly likes, is another round donut encrusted with coconut flakes, and filled with coconut flavored cream.

Paula’s also has donuts with chocolate cream and Bavarian cream, which is a type of custard. If you’re not into jelly or cream filled donuts (who even are you?), then Paula’s also has filled donuts with cream cheese and key lime filling.

Category 4: Specialty Donuts

Here are two fun facts about Paula’s Donuts:

1) Their most popular donut is the Peanut Stick, shown. It is a cake donut that’s lightly glazed and rolled in peanuts. It has a crunchy topping from the peanuts, a crispy fried exterior, and a soft, plush interior. It’s a slightly spicy, super satisfying, not – too – sweet donut that everyone loves. They even come filled with jelly! No wonder it’s the local favorite!

2) Every month, Paula’s sells a limited – time donut of the month. This month’s donut is Peanut Butter Marshmallow. If you like Reese’s Puffs cereal, you would certainly love this. It’s a big round donut stuffed with sweet peanut butter cream and topped with marshmallow fluff and peanut butter – chocolate candies. My little sister and I give it five stars!

So, there you have it, folks. If you find yourself in Buffalo and need something sweet, go to Paula’s Donuts.

If, however, donuts just aren’t your thing… still go to Paula’s, because they also have carrot cake, bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and plenty of other goodies.

I hope to see you there, and look out for the Buffalo snow!