A reader writes to say that, while she knows it's over the top, she was at a potluck recently where they served a bread pudding made with Krispy Kreme doughnuts. She's planning to serve it for Christmas morning.

We had read about Krispy Kreme bread pudding in a novel, but there was no recipe, simply a mention of some of the ingredients — two dozen doughnuts, a can of sweetened condensed milk, raisins and a butter-rum topping. Our first inclination was "sugar overload" but then we had to wonder. So we searched the Web, and came up with lots of variations on the theme. A "Friends of Krispy Kreme" recipe includes a cup of sugar and a cup of melted butter and a lemon sauce topping (www.krispykreme.com/bread Pudding.html). Another calls for 2 cups of heavy cream and 10 egg yolks. Sound of arteries shuddering.

But by far most of the chatter is about a recipe Paula Deen demonstrated on her cooking show on the Food Network, with the infamous comment that there is "no sugar added." (The sugar, of course, is in the doughnuts and the condensed milk). She credits it to Bill Nicholson. We made it with tongue firmly in cheek, and everyone who tried it called it "way sweet." But not a smidgen was left in the dish.

This goes together quickly and lends itself to being made ahead of time and so is a great option for this final holiday week, when you might be heading off to a party or family gathering after a full day's work. If you can't get Krispy Kreme, other glazed doughnuts substitute nicely.

If you have time, allow the doughnuts to dry for a couple of hours if they are very fresh. You can substitute 1 teaspoon rum extract or vanilla extract for the rum. If the sauce is too thick, thin with milk. Others who have tried this recipe suggest adding pecans, substituting golden raisins for dark, and using other canned fruits such as peaches or mandarin oranges for the fruit cocktail.

KRISPY KREME BREAD PUDDING WITH BUTTER RUM SAUCE