Last updated on September 19th, 2022
Six youth and five adults have been named finalists in this year’s Bashas’ Supermarkets Donut Flavor Craze Contest. Eleven residents—from Clifton, Glendale, Litchfield Park, Phoenix, San Tan Valley, Scottsdale and Surprise, Arizona—were voted as finalists.
The fifth-annual contest invited Arizonans to share donut creations that represent their favorite sweet treat or guilty pleasure. The donut flavor finalists did not disappoint, with ideas themed around everything from root beer floats, creamsicles and banana splits to brownies, gumballs and potato chips.
Judges weighed creativity, flavor combination and individuality to choose the finalists based on a 100-word description of their best donut idea, including the proposed name, key ingredients and why the donut is a sweet treat or guilty pleasure. Entries spanned two categories: youth ages 8-17 and adults 18 and older.
Youth finalists
The following youth were named finalists for their flavor submissions:
- Banana Split: A strawberry-filled donut iced with a banana fruit mix, given white glossy icing and topped with chocolate drizzle. (Surprise resident Avery K., age 10);
- Brownie Love: A chocolate donut with chocolate filling, iced with chocolate dip and sprinkled with brownie crumbs. (San Tan Valley resident Kalei D., age 12);
- Galactic Gumball: A white-frosting-swirled donut with colored sprinkles, topped with colored gumballs. (Phoenix resident Charles O., age 8);
- Neapolitan Dream: A strawberry long john donut, filled with vanilla pudding and topped with chocolate frosting and pink, white and brown sprinkles. (Clifton resident Sienna F., age 11);
- Orange Creamsicle: A vienna-filled donut with orange fruit, mixed with white and glossy icing. (San Tan Valley resident JT D., age 17); and
- Sprinkle Explosion: A donut filled with buttercream and sprinkles, topped with white icing, swirled with drops of color and topped with sprinkles. (Surprise resident Makenzie L., age 10).
Adult finalists
The following adults were named finalists for their flavor submissions:
- Monkey Bread Minis: A donut cluster glazed and rolled in cinnamon sugar. (Phoenix resident Fair Yeager);
- Raspberry Lemon Delight: A vanilla cake donut with lemon, drizzled with raspberry icing. (Litchfield Park resident Amy Bartlett);
- Root Beer Float: A donut filled with vanilla cream, mixed with buttercream and topped with root beer icing. (Litchfield Park resident Eric Bartlett);
- Strawberry Shortcake: A donut filled with strawberry glaze, topped with strawberry icing and dipped in a cookie crumb. (Glendale resident Angel Fuchs); and
- Vanilla Cream Potato Chip: A bar donut filled with vanilla cream and topped with crushed potato chips. (Scottsdale resident Debi Kinder).
Two winning donut flavors (one youth, one adult) will be selected by a panel of judges in time for National Donut Day on Friday, June 5. The winning donuts will be featured in Bashas’ bakery cases across the state during the month of June, joining the grocer’s other made-from-scratch treats, including donuts, fritters, croissants, Danishes, brownies, frosted cookies, cakes, cupcakes and more.
In addition to having their winning donuts featured in Bashas’ bakery departments across the state, the two winners (one youth and one adult) will be named Bashas’ Official Bashas’ Donut Ambassadors for 2020, and receive $500 worth of prizes, including a Bashas’ gift card, family fun activities and baking/cooking gadgets, along with one dozen donuts every month for a year.
Bashas’ also will distribute a $50 grocery gift card to runners-up in each age category, and a $20 grocery gift card to the honorable mentions in each age category.
Bashas’ Family of Stores is an Arizona-based family-owned grocer that operates Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Eddie’s Country Store, and both Bashas’ and Bashas’ Diné supermarkets. With more than 100 grocery stores, it is one of the largest employers in the state and one of the Best Places to Work in Arizona.
