Heritage Potato Donuts recipe came from the early 1900s. I am sure they were around even before then but this is a recipe that I love because of the flavor and texture that are unlike those cookie-cutter donuts from the grocery store. Plus it has the added feature of using some of my canned potatoes.
We grow them every year in our garden. (Look for our gardening videos for more information on that.) Then I place them in my root cellar (https://www.wisdompreserved.life/root-cellar-reveal-and-pantry-tour) for the winter. Finally, any that are left get canned up for use later. (https://www.wisdompreserved.life/how-to-pressure-can-potatoes)
Ingredients:
for donuts:
1 quart drained canned potatoes or 2 cups mashed potatoes
1/4 cup melted butter
3 beaten eggs
1/16 teaspoon salt (1 pinch)
3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
7 cups flour + more for rolling out dough
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg (1 pinch)
4 teaspoons baking powder
for cinnamon/sugar mixture:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
I begin this recipe by mashing my canned potatoes. I use my large mixer for this but you could do it by hand. You could also use leftover mashed potatoes or even instant for this recipe.
This is a large batch so if you only have a few mouths to feed, then I recommend reducing it.
I then add the butter, eggs, salt, sugar, and milk to the potatoes and mix it well.
Finally, I add the dry ingredients of flour, nutmeg, and baking powder.
This is a very wet dough. Do not add extra flour or it won't taste as good. Trust me you will be tempted but just don't.
I use a large amount of flour on my counter so that the dough will not stick.
I then add about 1/3 of the dough and press it out with my flour-coated hands until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Be careful to just coat the surface of the dough with flour but not press it into it.
Next, it is time to cut out the donuts. I use a biscuit cutter but you could even use the rim of a flour dipped jar or glass. I then use an apple corer to remove the middle of the donut so that it cooks evenly and doesn't have a doughy center. Again you could use anything small and circular for this.
These donuts are deep-fried in hot vegetable oil. Medium to medium-high will usually get it the right temperature but you may need to adjust as you are cooking. Too hot and the outside will burn while the inside is doughy. Too cool and the donut will become a grease sponge and take forever to cook. Neither of these scenarios are good so I like to use my donut holes as my testers.
This next step is optional but you can make a cinnamon and sugar mixture by combining the 1 cup of sugar and the 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and mixing it. Sometimes, I place it in a jar and just shake it to combine them.
You then dip the hot donuts right into the mix. It should come out well-coated. If you wait until after they have been sitting for a bit then the sugar won't stick. I usually like to make some with the coating and others without.
Heritage potato donuts taste best while they are fresh but are still good later.
