It's actually a 78-year-old day of remembrance established by the Salvation Army in 1938 to commemorate "doughnut lassies," women volunteers who were sent to France during World War I to help distribute the fried-dough treats in an effort to make soldiers feel more at home.
That translates to specials on plenty of doughnuts when the annual holiday rolls around, this year Friday, June 2.
Here's a rundown of local favorites and the deals they offer for the holiday:
1. The Salty Donut's Traditional Glazed
To celebrate National Doughnut Day, Miami's Salty Donut will open at 7:30 a.m. and give its first 100 customers a complimentary traditional glazed doughnut. The holiday will be extraspecial for the owners because it'll be the first one that Andy Rodriguez and Amanda Pizarro will recognize in their Wynwood brick-and-mortar shop (50 NW 23rd St., #112, Miami). Expect all-day doughnut-hole giveaways and, of course, plenty of the store's specialty. Rodriguez and Pizarro estimate they'll make as many as 3,000 doughnuts this Friday (about double the number they produced for the holiday last year). That night, they'll throw their second-annual Lyfe Collab National Donut Day Party. Tickets are sold out, but that doesn't mean you can't stop by the shop for a taste of Salty's three most popular doughnuts: traditional glazed, maple bacon, and seasonal white chocolate tres leches. "There's just something about our glazed that's just right," Pizarro says. "It's so simple, but that combination of buttery, sweet, and fluffy wins people over every time."
2. Mojo Donut's Death by Chocolate
Chef Shawn Neifeld and his wife Shelly opened the original Pembroke Pines Mojo Donuts (7906 Pines Blvd.) in 2013 because they missed the many doughnuts they'd devoured while traveling across the country to cities such as Chicago and New York. The dearth of doughnuts in South Florida was a call to action. Most of Mojo's 50-plus flavors tend to sell out quickly. The hype around this place is thanks to the Neifelds' wild creations. They put their own gourmet spin on the croissant-doughnut pastry in flavors such as cinnamon and sugar or filled with dulche de leche or Bavarian cream. Today the Miami shop (8870 Bird Rd.) is best known for a rotating list of limited-edition doughnuts. Top sellers include the Deco Delight, filled with banana cream and covered in white or dark chocolate with strawberries and blueberries, and Death by Chocolate. Mojo won't offer any deals on National Doughnut Day, but the reasonable prices — a half-dozen for $8.99 or a full dozen for $16.99 — make these delicacies a must-have.
Chef Shawn Neifeld and his wife Shelly opened the original Pembroke Pines Mojo Donuts (7906 Pines Blvd.) in 2013 because they missed the many doughnuts they'd devoured while traveling across the country to cities such as Chicago and New York. The dearth of doughnuts in South Florida was a call to action. Most of Mojo's 50-plus flavors tend to sell out quickly. The hype around this place is thanks to the Neifelds' wild creations. They put their own gourmet spin on the croissant-doughnut pastry in flavors such as cinnamon and sugar or filled with dulche de leche or Bavarian cream. Today the Miami shop (8870 Bird Rd.) is best known for a rotating list of limited-edition doughnuts. Top sellers include the Deco Delight, filled with banana cream and covered in white or dark chocolate with strawberries and blueberries, and Death by Chocolate. Mojo won't offer any deals on National Doughnut Day, but the reasonable prices — a half-dozen for $8.99 or a full dozen for $16.99 — make these delicacies a must-have.
3. Nani's Strawberry Shortcake
A fairly recent newcomer on the local craft-doughnut scene, Delray Beach resident Nani Edry went from surfing by day to creating some of the area's biggest and best doughnuts by night. Early every morning, before most of us are even awake, he makes his signature creations for his shop, named simply Nani's, which launched inside the bakery Bond and Smolders in Boynton Beach. This year, however, Edry has something new to celebrate come National Doughnut Day: a standalone shop he'll open just in time for the holiday (601 N. Congress Ave., #406, Delray Beach). This Friday, the self-taught cook and phenom pastry chef will offer his special doughnut pastry dough, one he says took months to perfect, a secret ratio of yeast, flour, water, and sugar that is constantly evolving to battle South Florida's heat and humidity. A combination of several types of flour, it's made in small batches, mixed, and cut by hand. The current roster of Nani's favorites includes white chocolate mocha, s'mores, cinnamon and sugar, plain glazed, and a rotating selection of exotic and seasonal flavors, but be sure to ask for his latest and greatest doughnut: the sandwich-like strawberry shortcake, which he debuted this past Mother's Day. Also expect the return of Edry's creation, the massive "doughnnabon": layers of deep-fried pastry dough slathered with butter, cinnamon, and sugar for a deep-fried doughnut/cinnamon bun hybrd.
4. Bake Shack's S'Mores 
While people line up for hours at hot spots such as the Salty Donut and Mojo Donuts, Dania Beach's Bake Shack (238 S. Federal Hwy.) has its own south Broward following. The 22-seat eatery serves breakfast and lunch, but the real treats are the doughnuts made from scratch by co-owner and baker Keith Freiman. He trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and later worked for renowned restaurants in New York City and Miami, including the three-Michelin-starred Picholine and Philippe by Philippe Chow. Today he offers simple and pleasurable fare, including one of his most popular doughnuts: the s'mores, a decadent take on the campfire confection. Just be sure to get there early: The shop opens at 6:30 a.m. Friday and is usually sold out of Freiman's dough by 1 p.m. before closing at 3.
Photo by Nicole Danna
