I love old cookbooks because they are almost always a challenge. Over-run with teenage girls enjoying their last few weeks of summertime to play and eat and eat and EAT, I whipped out my great-grandmother’s 1927 Butterick Book of Recipes and Household Hints to make some quick doughnuts.

Because the girls couldn’t wait for doughnuts that need to rise.

The directions were suitably inadequate. Fun!

Let’s go.

How to make Sweet-Milk Doughnuts:

1 tablespoon butter or fat
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Flour

How much flour? We have no idea. Yay!

Sweet milk, by the way, is the old-fashioned way of saying regular milk, not buttermilk.

Here are the directions as written (in italics):

Beat the eggs till very light, add the sugar and when foamy add the melted butter or fat.

Don’t you love it when the ingredients aren’t listed in order of use? And thanks for telling me the butter needed to be melted!

Sift the baking powder, salt and nutmeg with one cup of flour and stir into first mixture, alternating with milk so as to keep the mixture smooth.

What first mixture?

Add just enough flour to make a soft dough which can be handled.

How much flour? Can’t you even give me a hint?

Roll out three-fourths inch thick on a lightly floured board. A soft dough makes light, tender doughnuts when cooked. Fry in deep fat and drain on unglazed paper. Test the fat for temperature or by using a thermometer.

And what would that temperature be???

Fat should never smoke, as this produces harmful by-products.

Thank you for caring.

Roll the doughnuts in powdered sugar just before serving.

New directions!

How to make Sweet-Milk Doughnuts:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs till very light. Whisk in sugar then the melted butter. In another bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and one cup of the flour. Stir flour mixture into the egg-sugar mixture, alternating with the milk. Using a large spoon, stir in the remaining flour to make a dough you can handle.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and cut out doughnuts. (LOOK! I got a doughnut cutter. Finally.)

Fry in hot oil, about one minute per side (till golden). I set my burner close to High. (About 375-degrees.)

Don’t forget, fat should never smoke, as this produces harmful by-products! (You’re welcome.)

Drain doughnuts on paper towels. Sift powdered sugar over them or shake the doughnuts one at a time in a bag of powdered sugar (easiest method!).

I present the 1927 Butterick sweet-milk doughnut.

It fries up quite plump!

Call the girls!

*Makes 12 doughnuts.

P.S. You can make all sorts of variations. If you want chocolate doughnuts, add a couple of squares of melted unsweetened chocolate along with the eggs and sugar. Add some grated lemon or orange peel. Add some chopped fruit. Etc! You could also glaze the doughnuts rather than using powdered sugar. It’s all good.

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