A wonut, doffle, wownut, waffle-donut or waffle nut is a hybrid food made from a combination of the cooking techniques and inputs of a

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe use ...

and a doughnut. A mixture of the waffle batter and the doughnut

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

are first poured into a

waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...

, then deep fried and finally decorated, with toppings similar to doughnuts. The wonut became popular in the spring of 2014 at the Waffles Cafe in the Lake View community area of Chicago, and its popularity quickly spread via

blogger A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

s and

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. It can now be found throughout the United States and beyond.

History

Following on the trend of the

cronut The Cronut is a pastry. It resembles a doughnut and is made from croissant-like dough filled with flavored cream and fried in grapeseed oil. The Cronut was created and trademarked in 2013 by the French pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Etymology Cro ...

, Waffles Cafe (3611 North

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, Chicago) included the wonut on its menu for a few months before it became prominent. In April 2014, bloggers and Instagrammers popularized the item around the country. The wonut was added to the menu to commemorate the opening of Waffles Cafe's second location in Streeterville and was first noticed by the

Thrillist Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis Ne ...

website. Among the early supporters of the food item were

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

, which DNAinfo.com author Serena Dai credits with causing the wonut to go viral. The creation, which was promptly featured on ''

The Chew ''The Chew'' is an American cooking-themed talk show that aired for seven seasons from September 26, 2011 to June 28, 2018, having replaced the soap opera ''All My Children'', on ABC as part of the network's weekday daytime lineup. The name wa ...

'', is credited to Waffles Cafe owner Alex Hernandez, a product of Le Cordon Bleu and former manager of Japonais in New York. By May 2014, DK's Donuts made a product that they called wownuts, available to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

area. The original Waffles Cafe location, which had been opened in 2012, was closed at the beginning of 2016 for renovation and was later that year shut down after losing its business license when it failed to pay a $15,000 debt.

Notes

{{Waffles Convenience foods Fast food Waffles American doughnuts American snack foods Cuisine of Chicago American desserts