Review: Krispy Kreme's All-New Hearts In Bloom Collection Is A Box Full Of Love

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, love is in the air. Also, if you happen to be near a Krispy Kreme, the smell of love is in the air, too — in the form of doughnuts. The chain has been creating ones in the shape of hearts since at least 2005, and over the next two decades, has always pumped fresh blood into the arteries of fun ideas to mark the holiday. In 2014, huggy and kissy X's and O's joined the fun, a "Luv" lady bug the following year, wordy conversation hearts got people both talking and eating them in 2019, and a "Dough Notes" box that left room for a personally penned message starting in 2021. Krispy Kreme always goes all out, from its Reese's collaboration to the Pop Tarts one. And the shop has some competition this year, too, with Dunkin' bringing back its own Valentine's Day-themed donuts.

So what sweet-hearts are Krispy Kreme pumping up for 2025? How does four brand new flavors, all heart-shaped, and packaged in a customized flower bouquet box sound to you, or perhaps your loved one? Krispy Kreme certainly hopes they sound good, with Chief Growth Operator Dave Skena saying in a statement, "Our Hearts in Bloom Collection is perfect for sharing love and appreciation for anyone special in your life this Valentine's Day. They might like flowers, but they'll love our beautiful and delicious flower doughnuts." Before you run off to Krispy Kreme to order a box for yourself, on behalf of The Takeout I tackled these new treats to see if they make the heart flutter, or if it's a beat you can totally skip.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Availability and pricing of Krispy Kreme's all-new Hearts in Bloom Collection

Krispy Kreme's all-new Hearts in Bloom Collection launched on January 27. It is a limited time offering, and will remain in stores until February 14, Valentine's Day, while supplies last.

The four doughnuts in this collection — You Make My Daisy, Love You Bunches, Blooming Heart, and You Are My Sunshine — are available to purchase in person at participating locations, and in some cases, as a 6-pack Hearts In Bloom box delivered fresh daily to select retailers. In person, the can be purchased individually, as a specialty Hearts In Bloom 3-pack, or a Hearts In Bloom specialty dozen, which includes two of each flavor, plus three Original Glazed Doughnuts.

Prices vary per location, but at a Midtown Manhattan location, it costs $2.89 for one of these specialty doughnuts, $10.69 for the 3-pack, and $22.19 for the dozen. In-store, doughnut orders can be placed at a counter, kiosk, or drive-thru where available. They can also be ordered for pick-up or delivery in advance using Krispy Kreme's app or website. All four doughnuts contain food allergens egg, milk, soy, and wheat.

Taste test: Blooming Heart Doughnut

Out of these four new doughnuts, the Blooming Heart one is essentially a word reiteration of this speciality collection's floral title. It also happened to be the one that looked least like a flower, but made up for it with its festive display of red, white and pink jimmies and flower petal sprinkles generously strewn about. These decorations top a clean sheen of mauve purple icing. After slicing the heart in two, pockets of a creme fill the upper part of the heart. It almost looks like a creamy spinach dip, but thankfully was sweet in nature.

The filling is Cookies & Kreme, which has a rich vanilla flavoring, with only the slightest hint of chocolate. Sadly, it didn't seem to have any actual cookie pieces in it. The purple top simply tasted like standard icing at first, before kicking in a hint of citrus to finish its flavor reveal.

Taken in as a whole bite, that curious icing flavoring neutralized the sweetness of the interior creme, which led me to conclude this flower idea wasn't necessarily bloom-groomed fully. A single Blooming Heart Doughnut nets 340 calories, 160 calories from fat, 18 total grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 160 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 25 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Taste test: Love You Bunches Doughnut

Red roses always stand out the most in a flower shop, and the Love You Bunches doughnut that emulates that popular Valentine's flower is also the standout looker in this quartet. It's hard to figure out where to train one's eye first. The vibrant red icing shines lovingly bright in the light, but the pink and red confectionery curls nestles on atop corner are a feast to behold. It's such a dainty looking doughnut that I almost felt guilty for splitting this heart in two. The inside creme unfortunately can't match this doughnut's lovely outward look. The creme's shade of brown was off putting, and reminded me more of a melted sausage than a doughnut's filling.

Fear not, the creme was not filled with salty pork meat, and was just a light chocolate flavored one. The red icing felt to me the most Valentine-candy-like to me, borrowing the super sugariness of treats handed in mid-February. The icing flavor is very strong, and didn't give the creme much room to breathe in a combined bite. The confectionery curls were a singular delight, and helped to balance out the strong icing, when taken together.

Be careful, because as you chew away on it, the curls can easily fall off, depriving you of one of its best features. A single Love You Bunches Doughnut nets 360 calories, 160 calories from fat, 18 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 160 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Taste test: You Are My Sunshine Doughnut

The song "You Are My Sunshine" was first recorded in 1939, and was then covered by tons of artists, people in love, and often parents as a lullaby to their adorable children. The sun doesn't exactly shine bright on the appearance of the Krispy Kreme doughnut of the same name, but I'm not sure a yellow iced doughnut would have worked as a backdrop to the beautiful single sunflower that adorns it. Dark brown chocolate icing isn't an unwelcome sight, but it reminded me more of a patch of soil, than a token of love. Split in two, this doughnut's creme looked like a sandy pudding.

The creme inside this doughnut had a sweet egginess to it, with an ever so hint of caramel. The top chocolate glaze didn't surprise, and delivered the flavoring one would expect. Taken together, the icing and creme made for an excellent rich and decadent combo. The topper of a sunflower candy piece, which is similar in taste to the Daisy one, but its disk is a little bonus dash of actual chocolate. A single You Make My Daisy Doughnut nets 360 calories, 180 calories from fat, 20 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 23 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Taste test: You Make My Daisy Doughnut

The award for punniest doughnut in this collection was hands and hearts down the You Make My Daisy one. Kudos to whoever came up with that, as well to the baker who designed its cute, yet subtle look. A soft pink sheet of icing covered the unglazed heart-shaped doughnut, and on the right side of the heart, drizzly lines of yellow icing lay a foundation for a perfectly symmetrical piece of daisy candy. Cut in two, the innards simply looked like a Twinkie, where a cloud of white fluffy cream stood suspended.

The creme is silky smooth, with no real flavoring other than a simple and luscious vanilla. Strawberry-flavored foods often taste too artificial, but the pink icing here was an exception to the rule, with a nice pinch of tartness included. The yellow icing was thinner and hard to discern its flavor, but was good nonetheless. In one bite, the creme and icing alternated taste sensations to deliver a well balanced doughnut, which varied in levels of sweetness.

After a few nibbles of the doughnut, I finally had a go at the daisy candy. One bite and I was hooked on this soft piece of white chocolate. A single You Make My Daisy Doughnut nets 360 calories, 170 calories from fat, 19 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 170 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Which Hearts in Bloom Collection Doughnut deserves the most love?

When it comes to Valentine's Day, many often express their love as large as possible, through jewelry, awful candies, and, of course, an abundance of flowers. Prices for the latter are often not worth it, so for those looking for a more budget friendly option, I would consider the Hearts in Bloom Specialty dozen as a fun, and delicious alternative to actual flowers. It also comes decked out in a lovely bouquet-like box, which you can assign you and yours names to.

However, if a dozen is just eleven doughnuts too many, I'm here to help narrow your options to a singular choice. If the Blooming Heart one placed more of an emphasis on the "cookie" part to its creme, perhaps including actual cookie crumbles to add dimension, this one could have been more of a champ. While it looks like a fun one to tackle, the fruity purple icing tasted a little off, and turned into a distraction for the entire affair.

You can do no wrong with either You Make Ny Daisy nor the Love You Bunches doughnuts. The former has a winning flavor combo, like strawberries and creme, and the latter is literally an edible valentine. However, if you're looking one doughnut that delivers both on looks and taste, be sure to wake up to a You Are My Sunshine doughnut. It's a solid everyday doughnut that hits the right heart beats, thanks to its familiar flavors, but also radiates a bit more with its beautiful single, edible sunflower. With spring coming soon, it could even stick around for a few months longer.

Methodology

On the first day of release, a Bloom Collection specialty frozen box was delivered to my door from a Manhattan location of Krispy Kreme. Not long after they arrived, I taste tested them at room temperature, with another taste tester on hand.

Before taking a single bite, I took into consideration the look and of each of the four doughnuts. I then cut the doughnuts into pieces, taking a bite of each flavor, and returned for further bites to reach a full conclusion as to which was truly the best. They were initially eaten in an a random order. This chew and review of each flavor is based on taste, appearance, deliciousness, capturing the spirit of love and Valentine's day, and overall lovability.

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