Old Fashioned Donuts

Here is an antique recipe for old fashioned donuts from a Woman’s World magazine of the early 1900s. These are made completely from scratch, as almost everything was back then.

4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
4 and 1/2 cups flour, sifted before measuring
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract
3 eggs1 cup milk1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cooking oil or other frying medium
Cream shortening and sugar. Beat eggs until light lemon color and add.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add a little flour, then a little milk to the egg mixture until all are used.
Last of all, mix in the flavoring extract. The dough should be as soft as can be handled.
Roll out, cut in strips, then slit each strip part way and twist. Cut and twist all before beginning to fry. Have the temperature to fry golden brown a bit of bread in one minute.
Drop in donuts, turn as soon as brown. When brown on both sides, take from fat on fork and drop into a kettle of boiling water for a quick instant. Then roll in powdered sugar. Donuts prepared in this way are light and digestible. Recipe makes 5 dozen. YUMMO!!!!