Why a Doughnut Day? How to Make Your Own

Doughnut or Donut? In the US, both spellings are used. In the UK, Donut is considered an American variant for Doughnut. (Interestingly, spell check is correcting “Donut”). Spelling lesson over.

So why in the world would we declare a National Day for Doughnuts? According to Holiday Insights…

• National Doughnut Day was established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression, and to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army volunteers who prepared doughnuts and other foods for thousands of soldiers.
• The original Salvation Army Doughnut was first served by Salvation Army in 1917. During WWI, Salvation Army “lassies” were sent to the front lines of Europe. These brave volunteers made home cooked foods, and provided a morale boost to the troops. Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside the of the metal helmet of an American soldier. The American infantrymen were commonly called Doughboys. Salvation Army lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines. Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance is considered the Salvation Army’s “first doughnut girl”.
• The term “Doughboy” was popular in referring to U.S. Army infantryman during World War I. American foot soldiers were occasionally called doughboys during the Civil War. The earliest references to the term, comes from the U.S-Mexican war.

(See more unusual June holidays HERE)

Some local Doughnut Shops honor the holiday by offering free doughnuts as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. If you find one, enjoy your free doughnuts and be sure to donate. We’d like to celebrate the day by making our own. In my opinion, there’s nothing that beats a truly homemade, deep fried donut, but as mentioned in previous posts, I’m not a huge fan of spending a lot of time in the kitchen. With so many donut makers now available, you can whip up a dozen or two in no time,and they’re baked, not fried which helps reduce the guilt level a bit. If you’re an online shopper, we found a few options for you…

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Sooo….are you ready to crank out some doughnuts/donuts? Let’s do it!

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Enjoy!

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