Who says doughnuts can’t be both breakfast and dessert?
West Lafayette and Lafayette have five great locations where you can satisfy your morning hunger or your sweet tooth with some delicious doughnuts. So grab your friends, your children or your grandchildren and make an outing out of visiting these amazing shops.
Mary Lou Donuts
Open since 1961,
Mary Lou’s is one of the statement shops of Lafayette, and it is home to some of the best doughnuts in the area. It prides itself on freshness and quality, and inside its shop is a center of community for townsfolk and students alike.
The specialty doughnuts include the massive apple fritters and blueberry doughnuts, but they have more than 80 flavor combinations. The company offers many other services, including delivery and drive-thru, and it sports the only
doughnut truck in the area. You can find the truck’s location by visiting the
Mary Lou Donut Truck Locations Facebook page.
The blueberry glazed doughnut I ate at Mary Lou Donuts.
I came for breakfast, and I tried the blueberry glazed cake doughnut, which has a true blueberry flavor with hints of cinnamon. It’s not too dense, but it’s definitely filling.
Address: 1830 S. 4th St., Lafayette, IN 47905
Hours: Monday through Saturday – 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday – closed
O’Rears Pastry Shop
This shop features specialty pastries including cupcakes, cookies and danishes, but they also serve fresh doughnuts.
O’Rears most famous doughnuts include the fried cinnamon crunch doughnuts and the fried apple fritters.
Other doughnuts include the tiger tails (vanilla and chocolate twists), Bavarian cremes, French cremes and raspberry cremes. On weekends, the shop makes special lemon and chocolate-filled doughnuts. Most of their doughnuts are yeast, but they do offer a small selection of cake doughnuts.
The fried cinnamon crunch doughnut I ate at O’Rear’s Pastry Shop.
I came for breakfast and tried the fried cinnamon crunch doughnut, which was delicious! The cinnamon-roll-flavored yeast doughnut was topped with caramel icing, crushed nuts and butterscotch chips, and the flavors together made me want to melt in their goodness.
Address: 321 N. 9th St., Lafayette, IN 47904
Check out O’Rears famous neon sign! It’s shaped like a pastry chef’s hat.
Hours: Monday – 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday – 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday – 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday – 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday – 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Corlew Donut Company
Open only in the morning, this doughnut shop features a variety of cake and yeast doughnuts you can grab on-the-go because it’s not a sit-down restaurant. However, you can purchase coffee or bottled beverages from a refrigerated cooler in the shop to pair with your doughnut.
Corlew Donut Co.’s specialty doughnuts include the apple fritters and the tiger tails. Not to be outdone by the other flavors, their special cinnamon doughnuts having a variety of toppings including caramel icing, chopped nuts with chocolate icing, and cinnamon sugar.
The tiger tail doughnut I ate at Corlew Donut Company.
I tried the tiger tail for breakfast, which was ginormous; it’s the equivalent of eating two doughnuts. I ate it all in one sitting! Chocolate and vanilla flavors are intertwined in this yeast doughnut, and it is topped with glaze frosting.
Address: 1803 E. 350 S., Lafayette, IN 47909
Hours: Monday – closed, Tuesday through Sunday – 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Hammer Donuts
Hammer Donuts, like Corlew’s, is a place to grab a doughnut or two on-the-go because it’s not a sit-down shop or cafe. Tucked in the back of the
Discount Den convenience store in the Chauncey Hill Mall near Purdue’s campus, a floor-to-ceiling glass case holds cake and yeast doughnuts made fresh for the day.
There are a variety of flavors to try, including jelly-filled, Bavarian creme-filled, cherry, red velvet and more. Their specialties, however, are the apple fritters as well as the cereal-topped doughnuts featuring Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, or Captain Crunch. No other shop in the area features these cereal creations; they definitely conquer breakfast and dessert.
The strawberry glazed doughnut I ate at Hammer Donuts.
I came for a snack and tried the glazed strawberry cake doughnut, which was small but also dense and thick, and it was the perfect combination to make me feel satisfied.
Address: 135 S. Chauncey Avenue #1J, West Lafayette, IN 47906
Hours: Monday through Wednesday – 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday – 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday – 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Greyhouse Coffee & Supply Co.
Greyhouse is a modern-yet-rustic coffee shop bustling with people near Purdue’s campus. After a huge remodel, the company had its grand reopening in March, 2018. With its new look, it has a new menu that now includes doughnuts.
Many of the flavors cater to the season, such as the pumpkin spice glazed cake doughnut and the strawberry lemonade yeast doughnut, but Greyhouse does offer classic flavors like the glazed vanilla bean yeast doughnut, the classic old-fashioned cake doughnut and the double chocolate old-fashioned cake doughnut.
The pumpkin spice glazed doughnut I ate at Greyhouse.
I tried the pumpkin spice glazed doughnut as another snack, and it was a spongy, dense cake that I enjoyed while sitting in the shop.
Address: 100 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, IN 47906
Hours: Everyday – 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
If you’re in the area, check out some of these amazing doughnut shops and find your favorite one for breakfast or just a sweet treat excursion.
For more information about
Lafayette-West Lafayette food and shops, visit us at
HomeOfPurdue.com
This blog was wrriten by Purdue University Student, Kayla Groen