Cruller

Chocolate covered French cruller

A cruller (or Twister) is a type of doughnut. It is sometimes topped with sugar or icing. It is often twisted (rather than round) in shape and unraised. The word comes from early 19th century Dutch kruller, from krullen "to curl."

It is most commonly found in New England and the Mid-Atlantic and North Central states of the USA, but it is also common in California.

In 2003, the Dunkin' Donuts chain of doughnut shops stopped carrying traditional crullers, claiming that the hand-shaped treats were too labor-intensive, and couldn't be simulated with new machines for mixing doughnut batter.

Krispy Kreme still sell the Cruller, while Dunkin' Donuts only carry the French Cruller.

A French cruller is a doughnut made from choux pastry. They are usually shaped like a fluted ring and have a light airy texture. Sometimes these are also simply known as "crullers," but they have little resemblance to the other kind of cruller other than that they are both types of doughnuts.

In popular culture

• In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("Once More, With Feeling"), the character Xander paraphrases the movie Magnolia with the line "Respect the cruller, and tame the donut."
• In an episode of Daria ("Through a Lens Darkly"), Jane refers to Daria as a "twisted little cruller".
• In the film Wayne's World, Wayne orders "coffee and crullers" as a hangover cure for a "partied-out" friend.
• The comic strip Get Fuzzy noted the demise of crullers at Dunkin Donuts several times.
• The comic series, Common Grounds, was originally published as the mini-comic, Holey Crullers, centering on a chain of doughnut shops called Holey Crullers (ie, crullers with holes in them).