New Haven, CTDonuts

Yericka Estrada runs this Dixwell Avenue counter, which she opened after moving up from Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. The New Haven Arts Paper's Juliette Lao traces the idea back to domplines, the bits of fried dough served with sweet or savory sauces or dusted with powdered sugar. What comes out are small donuts served still warm, built around what Estrada calls sweet and salty combos: guava and cream cheese is her signature, alongside dulce de leche, maple bacon with real maple syrup, cinnamon sugar and miniature s'mores. Order the guava and cream cheese.

A Wallingford counter that Food & Wine picked as Connecticut's entry in its state-by-state doughnut roundup, quoted by CT Insider. The write-up singles out the old fashioneds, called crispy wheels of perfection, and filled doughnuts portioned so generously the shop sometimes skips the pastry bag and slices the yeast rounds open to slather them with cream and jam. Order an old fashioned and a filled one.

A small family-owned shop on East Main Street in Branford, opened late in 2022 and run by Fatima Hussaini. The Shoreline Times' Lisa Reisman found the racks already picked over by 9:15 on a weekday morning, the apple cider doughnuts gone and one frosted chocolate left waiting. She lists glazed chocolate, Boston cream and powdered jelly among the regulars, with maple bacon, sour cream and birthday cake turning up more rarely, plus Cohen's bagels in cheddar, onion and poppy. Go early, and take whatever is still warm.

Whitney Donut has been a Hamden neighborhood counter since 1980, with its family still running the shop. The doughnuts cover frosted, sugared, and jelly-filled classics as well as crullers and chocolate honey dips. Start with a cruller or buttermilk doughnut to see its old-school style, then add a filled one. The shop also serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches.