She must have donuts for Christmas, says Ina. But I couldn't find her recipe, so while at the farm I went through her recipe box and came up with two.
RAISED DOUGHNUTS
1 cup yeast mixture
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (ample)
2 eggs
cinnamon
Don't mix as stiff as bread but let rise just the same as bread. Raise once, knead down, raise again, cut and let them raise amply twice their size. Put upper side down to cook first.
DOUGHNUTS (written in Drain, Oregon, on March 2, 1951, while Ina was visiting relatives)
1 cup sugar
butter the size of a walnut
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sweet milk
2 eggs
4 cups flour
3 heaping tsps baking powder
Flavor to taste.
And -- that's all she wrote.
I have a faint memory of my parents making doughnuts in a deep fryer when I was a very little girl. I can even remember how the doughnuts tasted. But they gave it up early and I don't know why, except for all the reasons we know: fried foods aren't good for you; the aroma lingers in your house and becomes stale; frying leaves a residue on the walls that eventually becomes dinginess. I think all of that is reason enough not to fry. It seems like Mother said the fat has to be really hot or it absorbs into the dough, and I think that's why my parents quit using their deep fat fryer.
I also reviewed my maternal grandmother's recipe boxes and found recipes for doughnuts. I mentioned to Mike that back in the day, people must have made doughnuts. He agreed, saying that he remembered his mother making doughnuts occasionally when he was very young.I recall that Ina sent doughnuts to Vance at Christmas when he was in basic training. To tell you the truth, I couldn't imagine that they were good. Doughnuts must be fresh.
Sorry -- I couldn't find a single Currier and Ives print amongst the collection. The candles continue. KW
Why did Ina quote, "do-nuts and coffee never hurt anyone"? Was that a marketing slogan or something?
ReplyDeleteI'm not big for the donuts, but Nick is! If I have one, I like the old fashioned cake donuts.
"Donuts and coffee never hurt anyone": I suspect Ina quoted this comment because do-nuts and coffee weren't on the list of things she should eat. She had high blood pressure and dieted to lose weight. (I learned this through Bertha's letters to their sisters in Drain.)
ReplyDeleteAn internet search on the phrase brought up some interesting comments -- mostly about coffee. But also, eHow suggests a supervisor motivate employees by providing coffee and doughnuts once a week. And my experience has been that guys like that better than gals. One guy I worked with was disappointed if the Friday treat was something other than doughnuts.
I love donuts and have a good recipe for raised donuts that you bake in the oven. I've only made them once but they were mighty tasty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tradition...donuts on Christmas Day. I think Ina said "donuts & coffee never hurt anyone" because the last part of the phrase was used for other foods. Maybe people began to use it justify eating anything they really wanted.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother (born in 1871 in Canada) made cake style whole wheat donuts in the 1940's. Oh, they were so good. They were heavy and eating one really filled you up. Years later I found a recipe in a magazine for ww donuts. When I rolled the dough out and tried to cut them, it was a sticky awful mess. If you add more flour when rolling them out (to make cutting easier), you run the risk of ruining the texture. Needless to say, they were pretty sad replicas of those my grandmother made. I've never made donuts since.
Thanks for looking for a Currier & Ives, Kathy.
I've made donuts a few times and it was kinda fun. But you're right--grease and smell. Even my hair!! It's far easier to just buy them. Donut holes are my weakness, with glaze. Mmmmm.... and since it's just the holes, there can't possibly be any calories!!! :-)
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