Where are the best doughnut shops in Volusia-Flagler? Here are our favorites

Doughnut shops can be a grab-and-go staple, convenient due to proximity, or a longstanding morning comfort — one worth the extra mileage. They can start your day out right, enjoyed alongside a morning espresso — as my grandmother would have it; end your evening on a high note — the reward for a long day’s work; or even hold memories of nostalgic weekend traditions and vacation-rooted visits.

Whether a roadside favorite, a tucked-away café or modern doughnut emporium, these local shops play a different role in everyone’s day-to-day, and that’s the beauty in finding your favorite. Luckily, the Volusia-Flagler area isn’t short on options. With National Doughnut Day quickly approaching (June 7), here are four of the Daytona, Flagler area’s best doughnut shops for stuffed, sprinkled and simple selections.

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Donnie’s Donuts

225 Daytona Blvd., Daytona Beach; 386-868-3122, donniesdonuts.com

If you’re a local doughnut lover, chances are you’ve stopped in to Donnie’s Donuts at least once. The Food Network-featured favorite, located within the One Daytona complex across from the speedway, has been curing sweet tooth cravings for years across the county — though its Daytona shop is now Donnie's sole Volusia location. At Donnie’s, all doughnuts are made fresh daily, with staff prepping trays full of sugared, iced and cream-filled creations right in front of you. The eatery offers vintage cake doughnuts, "served plain or rolled in our GMO-free organic sugar or cinnamon sugar," and modern "handcrafted artisan doughnuts" that can be customized at the shop's "Donut Bar.”

Donnie’s Donuts' homemade creations aren’t intimidating in size or overly sweetened, yet still well-portioned, light, fluffy and indulgent — an array that are just as tasty plain as they are dressed up. The eatery offers everything from single doughnuts to 12 packs ($16.50 - $26.25), as well as popular pre-made combo packs, as seen online. Recent favorites have included the classic chocolate sugar and strawberry iced vintage doughnuts, alongside the butterbeer doughnut — vanilla base decorated with butterscotch chips, Boston cream and caramel drizzle; and chocolate cheesecake doughnut — chocolate base, creamy cheesecake filling, Oreo crumbs and a light caramel drizzle.

Swillerbees Craft Donuts & Coffee

201 N. Second St., Flagler Beach; 386-693-4797, swillerbeescraftdonuts.com

Swillerbees is a local morning go-to and safe space for lovers of both simple selections and decadent doughnut desserts. The buzzing craft donut and coffee shop has locations in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast — with another on the way in Ormond Beach — and serves up generously sized classic ($2.75) or craft ($3.00) yeast doughnuts, with recent options including everything from the simple glazed, vanilla-sprinkled and cinnamon-sugar doughnuts to the candied pearl-topped strawberry shortcake and graham cracker-coated s’mores doughnuts.

The quaint brick shop’s selections, on the thicker and richer side, are ever-changing, with my recent May favorites including the lemon meringue — a sweet and citrusy, lightly glazed and lemon-filled Bismarck, layered with torched meringue; the Waffle House — a perfect breakfast and dessert marriage, combining a powdered-sugar doughnut with golden waffle bits, crisp bacon, sliced strawberry, whipped cream, Nutella and maple syrup drizzling; and the coffee, cake and whipped cream-filled tiramisu doughnut.

Java Express Fine Coffee & Donuts

1440 S. Ridgewood Ave., Daytona Beach; 386-947-1950

Tucked away on Daytona’s Ridgewood Avenue, Java Express is a roadside gem that does classic doughnuts right. The intimate little spot, packed with regulars on any given morning, offers a warm-served selection of some of the best yeast donuts in Daytona. The area staple for simple, but crave-able selections closes shop at 2 p.m., often selling out of its morning desserts, so I, like many, always stop in early for my favorite treats.

Java Express makes its doughnuts fresh each morning, serving as a reliable favorite for pillowy, golden-brown goods, and offers classic options like chocolate iced, maple glazed or powdered sugar, as well as other personal favorites, like the Boston cream, jelly-filled and powdered, Bavarian cream-filled doughnuts.

Duck Donuts

1405 Cornerstone Blvd., Suite C, Daytona Beach; 386-256-7714, duckdonuts.com

Duck Donuts, located within the Tomoka Town Center in Daytona Beach, offers customizable cake donuts with endless flavor combinations. The beloved chain has locations across the country — several internationally — and only one store here in Volusia County. The shop’s quality goes without question, serving up warm, made-to-order doughnuts that are soft, cakey and melt in your mouth with every delicious bite.

The flavors are alluring, some rich, others more tame, but that’s the beauty of Duck Donuts — you can customize your doughnuts sweet, savory, drizzled or glazed layers to meet your preferences. The shop does not offer stuffed doughnuts, only topped, vanilla cake selections ($2.50 singles, $12.50 half dozen) with an expansive and undeniably unique variety of seasonal flavors, fan favorites, classic assortments and doughnut sundaes. Several recent favorites and popular breakfast-like picks, include the blueberry pancake and maple bacon doughnuts; alongside other delectable selections, like the Peanut Butter Paradise and Oreo, sugar and vanilla drizzle-layered Boardwalk doughnut.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Best doughnut shops in Daytona Beach, Flagler Beach area