INA'S CHRISTMAS MEMORIES, DAY 13

“Donuts and coffee never hurt anyone,” as Ina says, undoubtedly tongue in cheek. She struggled to keep her weight down, but obviously she looked forward to donuts and coffee at Christmas.

The subject of donuts came up on the previous post, including a question as to what type of donuts they were. That sent me to the recipe boxes to see what I could find.

Unfortunately, I can’t find Grandma Ina’s recipe. I suspect it’s at the farm. And that tells you that I’m rather haphazard in my care of these things. But anyway, I think they were cake donuts rather than raised donuts. And I think she rolled them and then used a cutter (like a cookie or biscuit cutter) with a hole in the middle.

Here’s a recipe from Ina’s daughter Pearl:

Pearl’s Sour Milk Donuts

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sour milk

2 eggs

½ tsp soda

2 tsp baking powder

Flour to make a soft dough

Roll out less than ½ inch thick

2 generous tbsp melted butter (or, to use the measurement standard of the day – twice the size of a “walnut”)

Season with nutmeg.

The method isn’t provided because, of course, everyone knows it. And does the melted butter go into the dough or the frying pan?

 

And just for the fun of it, here’s a recipe I found in Ina’s box, probably from the early ‘50s:

Mrs. Lester’s Raised Doughnuts

1 cup yeast mixture -- ?

½ cup hot water

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter (ample)

2 eggs

Cinnamon

Don’t mix as stiff as bread, but let rise just the same as bread. Let rise once, knead down; let rise again. Cut out and let them rise amply twice their size. Put upper side down to cook first.

My guess is that Ina just cooked the donuts in plenty of fat, probably lard, in a frying pan. KW