Sweeten Up Your Next Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Donuts
The best bread for your grilled cheese sandwich might not even be bread at all. It might be glazed donuts. It sounds like the ultimate when-worlds-collide culinary jewel created by the genius of a ravenous munchies-inspired gourmand. But, it's very much a real thing that exists in this world. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is an undeniably iconic pairing, but if your palate leans more sweet than savory, this grilled cheese upgrade might be just the sandwich hack you've been waiting for. The interplay of the cheese, butter, and glaze creates a gooey, sweet-savory sandwich with the crispy buttered sides out and the donut glaze and melty cheese tucked within.
Manhattan's Clinton Hall beer garden is famous for serving up a killer glazed donut grilled cheese with gooey melted mozzarella. It's not just this New York institution cooking these up, either. Everglazed, the donut shop at Walt Disney World, released a donut grilled cheese in 2021, and Tom & Chee restaurants nationwide also serve donut grilled cheeses. Luckily, you don't have to go further than your kitchen to enjoy one. All it takes is one glazed donut and a few slices of cheese.
Donut knock it 'til you try it
To assemble, cut the donut in half to create two circles. Spread the cut sides with butter, and slam one of those bad boys butter-side-down onto a hot oiled skillet. Just don't rush the heat or you'll scorch, not brown, that mouth-watering glaze. From there, drape your sliced cheese on top, then grab the other buttered donut half and place it glazed-side-down on top of the cheese. The glazed sides will be tucked inside the sandwich. To finish, flatten the whole thing with a spatula, then flip it so the other donut half fries on the pan, completing the sandwich.
Using mozzarella or sharp cheddar cheese will yield a more decadent, rich flavor than trusty Kraft singles. The small yet crucial swap is worth the extra few seconds of prep time. Back in 2017, Clinton Hall released a limited-time "Flamin' Hot" version of its signature donut grilled cheese made with a habanero bacon glazed donut. You could follow the lead and load your donut grilled cheese with crumbled bacon and hot pepper slices. To further elevate your sweet-savory slammer into sandwich stardom, fry those glazed donuts on the grill to add a crispy texture and caramelize the sugars for more depth. Nothing in the rule book says you couldn't add a piece of fried chicken or a burger on there too, or use glazed donuts to make a legendary bacon-egg-and-cheese to cure a nasty hangover.