krispy kreme dozen
I tried one of each doughnut that was available to me.
Abigail Abesamis

Krispy Kreme's original glazed doughnut is my obvious choice, especially when the Hot Light is on. But is there a sleeper hit I've been missing out on all these years by ordering original glazed without question?

To find out, I sampled all of the doughnuts available year-round at my local Krispy Kreme.

Here's what I thought of each:

Chocolate iced with Kreme filling was a bit too sweet for me

3 Chocolate iced custard filled
Chocolate iced with Kreme filling.
Abigail Abesamis

There are recurring themes between the different flavors, the Kreme filling being one of them.

For me, the filling was overly sweet and dense, reminding me of the pre-made icing you'd buy at a supermarket. As a result, it overwhelmed an already sweet doughnut.

Glazed with Kreme filling had a similar issue

11 Glazed with kreme filling
Glazed with Kreme filling.
Abigail Abesamis

The glaze and filling were quite sugary. Overall, this doughnut was also just a bit too sweet for me.

The cinnamon bun had a subtle flavor

10 Cinnamon bun
Cinnamon bun.
Abigail Abesamis

The cinnamon flavor was subtle and the doughnut was a bit tougher in texture than the original glazed. Based on the ingredients list, that's likely due to the addition of oat fiber.

The glazed blueberry cake had a muffin-like texture

9 Glazed blueberry cake
Glazed blueberry cake.
Abigail Abesamis

This dense doughnut was crumbly and not as sweet as some of the others. The glazed topping added a satisfying crunchy texture.

Glazed raspberry-filled didn't live up to my expectations

8 Glazed raspberry filled
Glazed raspberry filled.
Abigail Abesamis

Jelly doughnuts are a classic, and I know people that love Krispy Kreme's version, but I wasn't as impressed.

I was looking for a tart raspberry filling to cut through the sweetness of the glazed doughnut. Instead, I felt I got a bland jelly that only hinted at a raspberry flavor.

Chocolate iced glazed had additional sweetness and not much chocolate flavor

7 Chocolate iced glazed
Chocolate iced glazed.
Abigail Abesamis

I found Krispy Kreme's chocolate glaze lacking in a deep, chocolate flavor and adding sweetness to an already sweet treat.

Glazed chocolate cake delivered on flavor

6 Glazed chocolate cake
Glazed chocolate cake.
Abigail Abesamis

Hello, chocolate. This doughnut was crumbly like glazed blueberry cake, but with an indulgent chocolate flavor.

It was pretty dense, though, and as much as I love doughnuts I don't know that I could finish this in one sitting.

Glazed lemon filled brightened the palate with a tart lemon filling

5 Glazed lemon filled
Glazed lemon filled.
Abigail Abesamis

The lemon filling delivered the tartness I was looking for in the raspberry jelly doughnut, a perfect foil to the sweetness of the glazed doughnut.

Colorful sprinkles leveled up the chocolate-iced-glazed doughnut

4 Chocolate iced glazed with sprinkles 2
Chocolate-iced glazed with sprinkles.
Abigail Abesamis

While Krispy Kreme's chocolate icing wasn't my favorite, the sprinkles added texture and, as an added bonus, made it more aesthetically pleasing.

Chocolate-iced custard-filled is essentially a Boston cream doughnut

12 Chocolate iced with kreme filling
Chocolate-iced custard filled.
Abigail Abesamis

I have a soft spot for Boston cream doughnuts. The generous custard filling inside a fluffy doughnut made for a tasty treat.

Cinnamon swirl stood out with its sugary coating and unique topping

2 Cinnamon swirl
Cinnamon swirl.
Abigail Abesamis

Tossing the doughnut in cinnamon sugar emphasized the lightness of Krispy Kreme's doughnut mix, and the cream cheese icing and cinnamon swirl added just the right amount of sweetness and moisture.

Original glazed is a classic for a reason

1 Original glazed 2
Original glazed.
Abigail Abesamis

The Hot Light specifically signals hot, fresh, melt-in-your-mouth, indulgent-yet-light original glazed doughnuts (the likes of which there is no comparison), but even after sitting in a display case and cooled to room temperature, this OG reigns supreme.

It is sheer perfection.

Read the original article on Insider