Is your blood type cream cheese frosting? Then you’re in the right place. Over the years Wilson, North Carolina, has become a bonafide sweet tooth Mecca. Sugar fiends from across the South abandon store-bought square cakes and pre-packed goodies to make a weekend pilgrimage to this sweet little town. Here, there are no imposter confections or second rate muffin tops. Most everything is baked up daily from family recipes that have been handed down from one hyper relative to the next. All the lollies pop. The cakes are so good they’ll have you in tiers. The donuts have a way of making you feel hole. So get in your car and follow your sweet tooth to Wilson. Before your diet voice tells you you can’t, we’re here to say yes you candy.
Wilson Donut Shop (Best Donut)
They say you can’t buy happiness. But you can buy donuts and that’s kind of the same thing. That’s why we recommend you stop by the Wilson Donut Shop. This place has been a fixture in Wilson since God was a boy.
Folks flock to this shop from surrounding counties. Walk down the street or pop into the office carrying a little white box and you’re suddenly everyone’s best friend. Each morning the donuts are lovingly prepared from a family recipe. The batter is subtly sweet and the texture is more cake-like than others. If you are a donut connoisseur, this is heaven. They have all the flavors you’d expect. Grab some chocolate Iced. Load up on some cream filled donuts. Fill up on some donut holes. You’ll be back.
Krueger’s Candies (Best Candy)
Meet a real deal candyman. Drew Krueger has been pulling taffy and boiling caramel since the age of five when he first learned the ropes of the candy business from his father, the original Kruger’s Candies man. Walk in and try one of his famous caramels–it’s the same fantastic recipe that’s been delighting folks since his family created it in 1953. He’s added some new flavors like salted caramel, espresso, sweet corn, pecan, and chocolate, and you’ll never find any artificial coloring or flavoring in them.
The candies are made daily on-site and shipped all over the world. To you that means that your bag of caramels and taffy are the freshest you’ll ever taste as they melt perfectly in your mouth.
Treat Yo’Self Bakery (Best Cupcake)
Baby pink and white subway tiles shine behind the gorgeous glass bakery case, but all you’ll see are the tidy rows of treats waiting for you to say, “that one, please.” The hardest part here will be what to choose. Try a cupcake of the month–margarita, strawberry cheesecake, or red velvet cookie crumble. The creativity, and deliciousness, changes frequently so there’s a new flavor to try every time you visit. There’s a reason why this was voted Wilson’s Favorite Bakery three years in a row. Stop in, Treat Yo’Self, and discover why.
Sugar Plum Shoppe (Best Southern Desserts)
Peek in the case at Sugar Plum’s daily selection of baked goods. Butterscotch pretzel cookies, carrot cake cupcakes, banana pudding, pies and cakes that will make you wish you were at a family function so you could have a sliver of each. Lemon cake square so tart and sweet that your pucker is only broken by your smile. Fluffy whipped cream topped strawberry shortcake so perfect you may never eat another dessert. Come in and see what’s fresh in the case, you’ll likely find your favorite Southern dessert.
Noel’s Sweets (Best Old School/Meets New School Desserts)
Prepare your palate for some creative confections rooted in family recipes at Noel’s Sweets. Homemade old-fashioned candies like milk chocolate pecan clusters and peanut butter delights, anyone? Owner Cassidy Noelle also crafts new concoctions weekly that will knock your socks off: banana lemon cookies, pineapple crunch bowls, a maple syrup pancake cupcake, and the popular mile-high cinnamon crunch muffin. This is also your one-stop-shop for bulk candy and gifts, along with all the delicious desserts. Stop in and say hello, you never know what flavor of yum you may leave with.
