It brings me great pleasure to share with you this vintage pumpkin doughnut recipe from the archives of the Springville Herald, sponsored by Spry (a mid-20th century vegetable shortening competitor of Crisco). Mmmm…. heart clogging deliciousness!
Apparently there was a war somewhere in 1942 that affected people living in Utah. And the soldiers a.k.a. “doughboys” on break needed to be coddled with fried things, and of course you were planning a party for them. I imagine that the war had something to do with protecting our right to make and consume copious quantities of fried things.
Fry in hot Spry about 1.5 inches deep. OMG. Arteries clogging just thinking about it. But hey! It’s so digestible that even your children will eat the doughnuts! If you make pumpkin doughnuts using this recipe, please leave a comment here and let us know how they turned out. And if your doughboys really did love them as promised.
Here’s the text from the clipping in case you’re having a hard time reading the article or the pumpkin doughnut recipe:
DOUGHNUTS FOR DOUGHBOYS
Of course you’re planning a party for the boy home on a furlough and you will want to serve the food he likes best. Put doughnuts at the top of the list for at canteens they are first choice.
Here are doughnuts that will top any your doughboy ever tasted. Light as a feather, moist, tender, deliciously spicy doughnuts. Sugar a few for the folks with a sweet tooth and serve wedges of cheese for added goodness. Make them often for the family, too.
Try this new way of frying doughnuts. See how light and tender they are – how delicate tasting. There’s no unpleasant smell or smoke, and foods fried the Spry way are so digestible even the children can eat them. Will they love that pumpkin flavor, too!
When the next furlough is due, you’ll get a letter saying, “Have doughnuts, Mom, same kind as last time.” So clip the recipe now and be prepared.
Pumpkin Doughnuts
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon [baking] soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons Spry [vegetable shortening]
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey, dark corn sirup, or light molasses
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup canned or cooked pumpkinSift flour with spices, salt, soda, and baking powder 3 times. Cream Spry and sugar until well blended; add honey and beat well. Add eggs and mix well.
Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix until smooth. With as little handling as possible, roll dough on floured board to 3/8-inch thickness. Let stand 20 minutes. Cut with 3-inch doughnut cutter.
Fry in hot Spry (350 degrees F.) about 1 1/2 inches deep, turning when first crack appears. Drain on absorbent paper. When doughnuts are cool, shake in a paper bag with granulated sugar, if desired. Makes 2 dozen.
