When I was pregnant with Bug, I gained over 50 pounds. I hate to even admit that, but it’s true. How did that happen? Krispy Kreme.

During that first pregnancy, I craved sweets. One of the few things that satisfied my cravings was a hot Original Glazed doughnut – or 12. And woe be to anyone who took one from the box. Ask Brandon – he’ll tell you I’d fight somebody over a doughnut.

I blame Vernon Rudolph for it. He’s the guy who brought Krispy Kreme to North Carolina.

Rudolph purchased a “secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe” from a French Chef in New Orleans in 1933. At the time, he worked for his uncle at a general store in Kentucky. Among other goods, they sold doughnuts.

The store failed during the Great Depression, and Rudolph and his uncle moved to Nashville. There they opened a new business focused solely on selling doughnuts in 1934.

The store was a sensation and inspired Rudolph to open his own store in Winston-Salem. Three years later, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts opened its doors.

Rudolph mostly sold to convenience stores, but when people passed by the kitchen at 4 am, they were lured in by the delicious smell.

Realizing he was missing out on a potential revenue stream, Rudolph decided to cut a hole in the wall of his store for a sales window. His hot doughnuts quickly became a local phenomenon.

By the 1950s, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts had stores across the Carolinas. Today, it is a global doughnut chain headquartered out of Winston-Salem.

That alone is enough to make me love them. But it doesn’t hurt that they make the best doughnut out of all the other chains. I have to admit I still crave them from time to time.

I can’t stop myself from swinging by when I catch the “Hot” light on. I haven’t gone through a dozen Original Glazed by myself since I was pregnant with Bug, though.

These days, I make sure I share.