Homemade doughnuts: first attempt

One of Ella's birthday gifts this past December was this cookbook, right here:


What I've learned is this: the thing about getting a cookbook for your daughter is that she will want to cook all sorts of things from said cookbook.

I keep putting her off with comments like these:

Oh, yes, honey... let's make that sometime.

Why don't you write down the ingredients and mommy will try to get those at the store one of these days? (Knowing full well that the list will likely never get completed, and if it does, she will likely forget about it. I know. I'm awful.)

This morning I was giving Adelia her morning bottle, listening to Isaias play at the kitchen table, and waiting for Isaac to wake up. We were all in our pajamas. And then Ella plopped down next to me and began thumbing through The Dreaded Cookbook.

I knew exactly what was on her mind.

And please note: I refer to it as "dreaded" not because it's not a wonderful cookbook (It really is wonderful!) Rather, because at this stage of my life, breakfasts at our house consist of three options:
1. cold cereal. USUALLY, it's cold cereal.
2. Costco muffins.
3. little packets of oatmeal.

Basically, the less fuss, the better.

Just as I'd feared, Ella asked: "Mommy, can we make something for breakfast from my Little House Cookbook?"

I groaned inwardly, and my first thought was: "But we have Costco muffins in the house!!!"

But my desire to be a fun, creative mama (even at 9 months pregnant) topped even the Costco muffins. I asked her what she had in mind. She began earnestly looking for recipes.
---"Codfish Balls?"

I am not even joking.

I laughed, then realized that she was completely serious. (She doesn't know what those are. Well now. As a matter of fact, even I do not know what those are.) She had simply read aloud from the first page she flipped to. And I think she was a might desperate to take advantage of my apparent willingness. See, we've made NOTHING from this cookbook-- nearly 3 months after her birthday.

So I asked, "Ummm...Isn't there a breakfast-section?"

Finally she began reading off some other options. My ears considerably perked at the "Doughnuts" option.

I agreed to try them. Until I saw that the recipe called for LARD. (Something we don't happen to have on hand, EVER.) I quickly tried to think of a substitution for the lard. (Shortening? Oil?) I even looked in the back of the book for a list of substitutions. There were none. So I took over and began to look for another recipe. One recipe I skimmed also listed "lard" but then noted: "You can substitute butter for lard." Aha!

So we waited for Isaac to wake up, donned our aprons, and began making the doughnuts Almanzo's mother made him.

Here they are, in process:


And here are our first few, done. You might be thinking we got creative, there, with those darker doughnuts. Cinnamon? Chocolate? Oh, no. Those are just burnt. Or over-cooked. Whatever. The butter got too hot (seems you need a candy thermometer for making doughnuts. Something I had read but thought I could manage without), and I ended up having to toss that batch of heated butter out. And begin all over again with new butter. (We're talking 2 lbs of butter, here- that these doughnuts need to boil in. Which is (ahem) A LOT of butter.)


But just look at how much fun they're having, sprinkling powdered sugar on these doughnuts!!


Best part? They tasted good. Even for a first attempt. But I may invest in a candy thermometer for future attempts to avoid our little overheated-butter-mishap. (Although I'll have you know: the "burnt" ones did get eaten, every last one of them. The undercooked ones ALSO got eaten, by the way.)

If anyone is wanting the recipe, let me know. I'll post it later.