Hans’ Bakery has been an Anoka mainstay since 1973. Its doughnuts and pastries are inspired by the original German-American owners. Try a little bit of everything with the Birkner box, a baker’s dozen of the bakery’s most popular items — like the raspberry rosebud and custard Bismark.  Other specialties include the enormous, extra-fluffy Texas doughnuts, and the Beesting: two rounds of sweet dough coffee cake filled with Bavarian cream.

Golden Valley’s Valley Pastries has a classic, old-fashioned feel: The raised doughnuts, bismarks, and long johns, served in flavors like chocolate sprinkle and maple iced, are beautifully fluffy and satisfying without being too sweet. They stand out for their immaculate glazes and designs. Don’t skip the fried cinnamon rolls, either.

One of the best spots to grab a pre-flight treat at the MSP airport, Angel Food also runs a bakery in St. Louis Park. Pre-order a “chef’s choice” dozen with surprise mix-and-match flavors, from fruity and sprinkled bites to rich chocolate glazes and maple bacon. Other choices include the “big ass jumbo” doughnut, bourbon-whiskey-caramel doughnut bread, and dough-naparts, a croissant/doughnut hybrid. If you’ve got a special occasion ahead, order a batch of Angel Food’s signature message doughnuts. Place a pre-order by noon the day before pick-up. 

This sweet spot in south Minneapolis bakes doughnuts all through the day. Bogart’s raised doughnuts are made with a rich brioche dough — try one topped with brown butter glaze, or stuffed full of Nutella. Bogarts serves classic cake doughnuts, too. If you’re on the hunt for something extra indulgent, make it a doughnut sundae with a swirl of soft-serve ice cream.

Cardigan Donuts has two downtown Minneapolis locations, at City Center and in the IDS building. Each serves decadent doughnut takes: Think cake doughnuts drizzled with a coffee glaze, Bismarks stuffed with a malted vanilla cream filling, and old fashioned doughnuts made moist and dense with Greek yogurt mixed into the batter. (Keep an eye on the website for the day’s inspired, limited-run doughnuts.) The IDS location also serves doughnut ice cream sandwiches and doughnut blendees (your choice of doughnut mixed into ice cream).

Doughnut and mochi lovers alike should stop by Dinkytown to sample these sensational sweets. These airy, chewy doughnuts, made with rice flour, come in all kinds of flavors, from banana milk and funnel cake to taro and black sesame. They’re delicately sweet, and the texture is so satisfying. (As a major plus, there’s bubble tea, too.)

A Baker’s Wife has been a Minneapolis staple for over 35 years. This old-school neighborhood bakery perfumes the surrounding block with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar. The classics are well-represented at A Baker’s Wife, from classic sprinkle doughnuts, to cake doughnuts with maple icing, to lemon-filled Bismarks dusted with powdered sugar. (In the fall, don’t miss the apple fritters.)

Mel-O-Glaze has been serving classic doughnuts in south Minneapolis for over 70 years. Most are generously topped with sprinkles, from the chocolate-chocolate, cherry, and buttermilk glazed cake doughnuts to the XXL raised doughnuts and long johns. Mel-O-Glaze also makes a gluten-free vanilla cake doughnut, plus treats for dogs and cats.

PJ Murphy’s, a nearly 100-year-old bakery in St. Paul, was renamed La Boulangerie Marguerite in 2020. Stop by for a dazzling mix of French and American-style pastries. Beyond classic raised and cake doughnuts, long johns, and Bismarks, La Boulangerie Marguerite serves decadent fried cinnamon rolls and morning buns made with a flaky croissant dough.

Mojo Monkey’s tiny shop serves unique, ever-changing flavors on the weekends. While this St. Paul shop’s inventive toppings are often a conversation starter, so is the art of its phenomenal dough — for baking nerds, at least. Don’t overlook the old fashioned doughnuts, which have a satisfying tang from sour cream in the batter. Or go for beignets, fritters, or Bismarks.

Tucked into Dragon Star Oriental Foods in St. Paul, Soga Mochi Donut serves a unique hybrid treat. These mochi doughnuts are circular, shaped almost like beads on a bracelet — they’re made chewy and bouncy by the addition of glutinous rice flour, and aren’t too sweet (in the best way). Flavors like matcha, toasted coconut, yaro, and yuzu change week to week.