This time, as I read about how Almanzo's mother made those doughnuts, and I noticed that "National Doughnut Day" was on the horizon, I did something about it! I went through my heirloom recipes and found the one that I remembered my Great Aunt making when I was but a young boy myself! This is the recipe I'm sharing with you today.
Farmer Boy Cinnamon Donuts
Ingredients: (should make about 1 1/2 dozen, depending on thickness)
- 2 Cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg
- 1 Cup of sweet milk (although my Aunt probably used Goat Milk)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- a pinch of ground nutmeg
- Lard for frying (or vegetable oil - I used Peanut Oil)
- sugar and cinnamon for coating
Directions: Place about 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon mixture into a paper lunch bag and set aside.
Place the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the egg and sugar. Add the milk, and vanilla to the egg mixture. Add all the wet mixture to the flour and stir. Add more flour as needed, to make a thick batter.
Dump the batter onto a floured surface to roll out. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1/2 by 8 inch strips. Using your floured hands, roll each into ropes. Finding the center of each rope, twist or braid them, sealing the ends.
In a kettle, heat the lard or oil to 375 degrees F. Gently lower each twisted rope into the kettle to fry them. (Don't crowd them!) Fry each till they are golden brown.
Remove them to paper toweling. Then, one at a time, shake gently in the paper bag of sugar/cinnamon to coat them.
I don't know if this is anything like the recipe that Mrs. Wilder used, but it is certainly what gave me my happy childhood memories of doughnuts!
I once saw this sign in the window of a bakery, "Seven days without doughnuts, makes one weak! (week)" :)
I hope you'll try this recipe and then come back here to leave a comment. Thanks. The Old Man in the Bib Overalls
One of the farms around here makes cinnamon doughnuts. Yum.
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