National Donut Day

Did you know the first Friday in June is National Donut Day?

Do you know who started National Donut Day? National Donut Day was started by the Salvation Army in 1983 to honor the “donut lassies” who served sweet treats and provided assistance to the soldiers on the front lines of World War I!

The donuts they served in World War I were a little different than the ones we see in bakeries today. They weren’t serving too many different flavors then because they needed to make way more than a dozen and had to use pretty cheap ingredients! Even though they might not have a Boston Creme or a Strawberry Frosted, they were still delicious!

This year you could even try making this simple Salvation Army Donut recipe to try them for yourself!

Salvation Army Donuts

Makes 2 dozen.

Ingredients:

1 large eggs
1 cups flour
1 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 tablespoon salt
about 3/4 cup milk (may need a little more if mixture is not coming together)
1 tub lard (or oil) enough to fill a deep pan.
1 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine all wet ingredients (except for lard and milk) then stir in dry ingredients with milk to form the dough.
Thoroughly knead the dough. Then roll out until about 1/4 inches thick. Cut rings from the dough. (Be creative when you are cutting the circles! You could use a cup, cookie cutter, or even a sauce bowl! The “donut lassies” didn’t use one tool for this they used many different things they could find that were available!)
Heat up your lard/oil in a large and deep pan. Once the lard/oil is boiling drop the rings into the lard/oil a couple at a time. Turn the donuts slowly multiple times until they are golden brown on both sides.
Remove the donuts and place them on a cooling rack, some paper towels, or someplace where the excess lard/oil will be removed from the donut.
Dust with powdered sugar once enough lard/oil has been removed from the surface that way the powdered sugar will form an icing on the donut. Let cool and enjoy!

Let us know if you and your family try these donuts! This activity is a great chance for kiddos to learn more about World War I!