#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CELEBRATING NATIONAL DONUT DAY

World War I Doughnut Dollies

Since today is National Donut Day, we’re turning the blog over to Cloris.

According to food historians, Dutch immigrants introduced Americans to donuts in the nineteenth century. Washington Irving is believed to be the first writer to describe donuts in print, and Clark Gable taught moviegoers the proper way to dunk a donut in It Happened One Night.

Donuts played an important role in World War I. The Salvation Army cooked and served donuts to soldiers in the trenches. The donuts were often fried in oil in soldiers’ helmets, giving rise to the nickname of “doughboys” for our soldiers. The women who volunteered for this duty were known as Doughnut Dollies.

The Salvation Army created National Doughnut Day in 1938 to honor the Doughnut Dollies and as a fundraiser to help the needy during the Great Depression. To this day the tradition of serving donuts to raise funds for the Salvation Army still takes place in parts of the United States.

Many donut shops offer free donuts to celebrate National Donut Day. Traditionally donuts are fried, but they can also be baked. If you’d like to celebrate National Donut Day by trying your hand at a batch of donuts, here’s an easy baked donut recipe.

Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts

Yield: 12 donuts

Donut Ingredients:

4 T butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 tsp. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease 12-ct. donut pan. 

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, beating to combine.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture alternately with the milk. Mix until thoroughly combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter evenly into donut pan. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool 5-7 minutes. Remove donuts from pan and place on rack to cool.

Melt glaze ingredients over low heat, stirring continually until smooth and shiny. Drizzle over donuts.