I spend most of my time writing, but every once in a while I sneak a bit of time to bake. So here is my first foray into sharing my occasional baking experiences with all my friends here on Steemit.

Hope you enjoy it!

Every year for New Year’s Eve, my family makes Spudnuts.

WHAT??

You have never heard of spudnuts?

Well let me introduce you to a delicious treat.

Wikipedia has the following to say about the spudnut:

The potato doughnut, sometimes called a Spudnut, is a doughnut, typically sweet, made with either mashed potatoes or potato starch instead of flour, the most common ingredient used for doughnut dough. Potato doughnuts were introduced in the mid-1900s, and a recipe was published in 1938. Potato doughnuts tend to be lighter than flour doughnuts, and are prepared in a similar method to other doughnuts.

Let me tell you, if you haven’t tried a spudnut, you are in for a treat.

My wife’s family hails from Panguitch, UT. This is a very small town in the south east of Utah that lies 6624 feet above sea level. The entire population of the town is estimated to be about 1481 people. When my wife and I first were married, my mother-in-law gave us a cook book that was compiled in Panguitch and contains favorite recipes of the local residents.

Leafing through it one day, I noticed a recipe for spudnuts. In fact, there are three recipes for spudnuts—each slightly different. Each one a treasure trove of information. I love doughnuts of all types and am a bit of a doughnut fiend. I hunt them down in every city I visit. I rank them in my mind. I have some I love and many I think are a waste of flour.
I decided to giveone of these little spudnut recipes a whirl.

OH BOY!

I’m ever so glad I did.

This delectable treat has two rules.

1. First, it is very best hot.
2. Second, they are even better if you share.

So now, we often gather as an extended family while I whip up a huge batch of these delightful treats. We eat loads of them right out of the fryer and we put the rest in brown paper sacks and run them around the neighborhood as gifts for our neighbors. It is like a fried wave of joy spreading through the neighborhood. It always brings a smile to my face.

Want to make them?

Here is the simple recipe:

SPUDNUTS

1 c. sugar
1 c. mashed spuds (that is potatoes if you didn’t already realize it)
2 tbs. yeast
1 ½ c milk
1 ½ tsp. salt
4 tbs. shortening
3 eggs
½ tsp nutmeg
FLOUR

Here are the instructions:

Scald milk and pour over spuds, salt, sugar, and shortening. Dissolve yeast in 1 c. warm water. When the spuds, milk, salt, sugar, and shortening are cooled, add the yeast water. Beat the eggs and add them. Add the nutmeg. Then add flour and knead until you get a soft dough.

Pretty vague on the flour, right?

I typically end up adding between 4 and 5 cups of flour. Just keep adding a cup or so at a time and keep mixing. When the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and keeps a soft shape, it is perfect.

Let the dough raise. Punch down. Let the dough raise again. Punch down.

Now roll it out on your counter to about ½” thick. Cut it into your desired shape. Let raise one more time.

Now fry in hot oil.

WARNING: HOT OIL BURNS. Please be careful. Especially around kids and pets.

When done, shake in a bag of sugar or glaze with your favorite glaze.

YUMMY!

*All pictures were taken by my daughter.

Follow @bigpanda for loads of fiction stories and an occasional baking adventure.