We Tried Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts. Here's How It Went
The air might not be crisp just yet, but that hasn't stopped Krispy Kreme from rolling out its Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts, and it's safe to say we're excited and ready for fall. When we heard the news of an early August launch, we drove to our nearest Krispy Kreme to try out the four variations of pumpkin doughnuts.
According to Krispy Kreme's website and social media accounts, fall starts early this year with a dash of pumpkin spice in the summer. The doughnut brand launched four pumpkin spice varieties in early August, with each delivering a unique twist on the popular fall flavor.
With so many delicious doughnuts to choose from and taste, we bought them all. (As if we even needed an excuse to make a trip to Krispy Kreme.) Get your tastebuds ready for a pumpkin spice explosion. We tried Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts to see just how well they deliver when it comes to pumpkin flavor.
What's in the pumpkin spice doughnuts?
Krispy Kreme launched four pumpkin spice doughnut variations this season, all with different tastes, textures, and use of pumpkin spice. The flavors include: Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed, Pumpkin Spice Cake, Pumpkin Spice Original filled Cheesecake, and a new Pumpkin Spice Latte Swirl doughnut.
Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed most closely tastes like Krispy Kreme's classic glazed doughnut, but with a dash of pumpkin spice in every bite. It's best for those who want to celebrate the season without too much pumpkin flavor. We describe the Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake similarly, but with an added cheesecake filling and a light cheesecake icing drizzle.
We're big fans of the Chocolate Cake doughnut, so we had high hopes for the Pumpkin Spice Cake. Imagine a pumpkin spice cake flavor with a gentle glaze covering the doughnut. Lastly, Pumpkin Spice Latte Swirl might be the most extravagant. Krispy Kreme dips the Pumpkin Spice doughnut in a pumpkin spice and sugar blend, then swirls it with vanilla and coffee buttercream. It's simply *chef's kiss.*
How much does each doughnut cost?
We wanted to try all the Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts, so we ordered two Quick Break combos that included a free medium iced coffee for $5.99. A Quick Break consists of two Original Glazed or Classic Assorted Doughnuts and any size coffee. If we knew this upfront, we would have upgraded our pumpkin coffees to large, but it's helpful information to know for next time.
Additionally, the Krispy Kreme employee warned us the "Lovers Dozen" would have been our smartest financial bet, but we had to cut it off somewhere. Twelve doughnuts would indeed send us into a sugar coma, and we don't have the self-control to stop at only a few. This special includes three of each pumpkin spice variation — it's perfect for larger groups.
In all, for our two Quick Break combos and two other doughnuts, the Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed and Pumpkin Spice Original filled Cheesecake, we spent $16.36. We bought these in Southern California, so your area's prices may likely vary.
How long and where will they be available?
When we first saw Krispy Kreme announce its pumpkin spice doughnuts in August, we had to rub our eyes to ensure we read the dates correctly. We expect to see these types of announcements after Labor Day into October.
Starting Monday, August 8, Krispy Kreme released pumpkin spice doughnuts and coffee creations at participating stores in the U.S. and Canada. This promotion runs from August 8th to the 28th, with no mention of dates into August and September. Forget back-to-school-specials. Krispy Kreme is racing ahead to Pumpkin specials.
With any potentially controversial promotion, we headed to Instagram to see if Krispy Kremes loyal fans had anything to say about the August launch date. Unsurprisingly, a doughnut lover and Krispy Kreme patron posted in the comments that Krispy Kreme hard launches these specials earlier in the season, potentially bringing certain products back for a limited time. We suggest not to hold out and run to Krispy Kreme now to get your hands on these doughnuts before they're gone.
What's the nutrition information for each doughnut?
We don't generally like to check the caloric intake of our desserts (it ruins the fun), but for the sake of research, we headed to the website to see how much damage we did with each pumpkin spice doughnut.
Kicking us off, the Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed Doughnut contains 190 calories, 100 of which are from fat. This variety only contains 10 grams of sugar per doughnut. Its Cheesecake Filled counterpart contains more calories and sugar, which doesn't surprise us considering the added filling. This doughnut has 260 calories, 130 from fat, and 17 grams of sugar.
The Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut contains thirty more calories than the Pumpkin Spice Original filled Cheesecake and eight more grams of sugar per doughnut. Finally, the Pumpkin Spice Latte Swirl Doughnut also contains 290 calories, 140 from fat, and 22 grams of sugar. When it comes to dessert, forget the calories, or only eat half if you're trying to cut back.
How do they compare to other pumpkin spice doughnuts?
It's tough to compete with glazed perfection from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. We dove into Dunkin's fall menu offerings for research purposes to see if they stood a chance as a competition. The first thing we noticed was the press release launch from last year in mid-August. Can we wait til fall next year to drop all the pumpkin products?
Dunkin Donuts offers a greater variety of holiday baked goods, including flavored donuts, donut holes, and muffins. They also launched an Apple Cider flavored donut, an apple cider cake ring tossed in cinnamon sugar. While variety is great, taste remains the top factor in our ranking.
In our opinion, Krispy Kreme offers fresher doughnuts every time. We have yet to experience receiving an old doughnut from Krispy Kreme. The brand bakes delicious doughnuts throughout the day, so it's likely they'll be pretty fresh when you order.
The verdict: these doughnuts are definitely worth a taste
We still can't fathom an August launch for Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts, but that doesn't affect how we feel about the delicious doughnuts themselves. With four variations, we usually gravitate towards a specific flavor. Still, Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed, Pumpkin Spice Cake, Pumpkin Spice Original filled Cheesecake, and a new Pumpkin Spice Latte Swirl doughnut all had us coming back for seconds.
Pair these doughnuts with one of their delicious pumpkin spice lattes or coffees for the perfect combination to get you in the fall spirit. Our favorite combination includes taking a bite of a Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut and then washing it down with an iced Pumpkin Spiced Coffee. It's the ideal amount of pumpkin without being too overbearing. Pumpkin spice can sometimes get old when overdone, but Krispy Kreme does the perfect job of coating each doughnut with enough sugar and spice.
The verdict is that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Pumpkin Spice flavors are worth a taste.