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Will Dunkin’ Get Us Off Cupcakes and on Doughnuts Again?

Photo: Courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts

We admit it: We were totally unsuccessful in our attempt to come up with a food meme to replace bacon, and Matt Lewis of Baked tells Eat Me Daily there will never be a “next cupcake,” either. His reasons are similar to the ones our readers gave: They’re cheap, they allow for creative license, and they’re soooo cute. That said, Dunkin’ Donuts is trying to validate 30 Rock’s claim (that we’re “off cupcakes and back to doughnuts”) by holding a “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest. Twelve finalists have just been picked — the sm’OREO is currently at the top of the list (below), but it’s still early.

• “A Nutter One” - A chocolate butter kreme-filled donut with peanut butter icing and chopped Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cups (Carol D’Angio, Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
• “Bodacious Banana” - A Bananas Foster-filled donut with chocolate icing topped with shredded coconut (Christine Roman, Ellenville, NY)
• “Chocolate Monkey” - A Bananas Foster-filled donut with chocolate icing topped with Hershey®’s Milk Chocolate shavings (Michelle Ventura, Cranston, RI)
• “Economic Crunch” - A cake donut with chocolate icing topped with graham cracker crunch and butternut crunch (Michael McNeil, Aliso Viejo, CA)
• “Frozen Assets” - A chocolate mint Bavarian-filled donut with white icing topped with blue and green sprinkles (Kimberly Brooks, Orlando, FL)
• “Grandma’s Blueberry Maple Donut” - A blueberry cake donut with maple icing topped with graham cracker crunch (Caitlyn Vandervelde, Coventry, RI)
• “Mexican Hot Chocolate” - A chocolate cake stick filled with marshmallow and topped with chocolate icing, Hershey®’s Cinnamon shavings and Hershey®’s Vanilla shavings (Jane Boderck, Easton, PA)
• “Sm’OREO” - A marshmallow-filled donut with chocolate icing topped with OREO® cookie pieces and graham cracker crunch (Laura Sherland, Smithtown, NY)
• “The Graham Slam” - A marshmallow-filled donut with chocolate icing topped with graham cracker crunch and white sprinkles (Nevrie Dauti, Wayne, NJ)
• “The King” - A Bananas Foster-filled donut with peanut butter icing and chopped peanuts (James Smith, Mount Vernon, NY)
• “Toffee For Your Coffee” - A glazed, sour cream cake donut topped with chopped Heath® Bar (Jeff Hager, Hoover, AL)
• “Tour de France” - A chocolate cake stick with hazelnut kreme glaze (Lindsay Piccotti, Clay, NY)


You can vote for a winner here, but keep in mind the recipient of $12,000 will also be determined by a bake-off at Dunkin’ Donuts University. Yes, there is such a thing. You hadn’t heard of a little school in Massachusetts?

Will Dunkin’ Get Us Off Cupcakes and on Doughnuts Again?