Up until 1847 doughnuts didn’t have holes – they had always been dropped by spoonfuls into the hot fat. Then Captain Hanson Gregory, a Maine settler, invented the doughnut cutter as a solution to the problem of soggy centers. But dropped doughnuts are easier to prepare than all that rolling and cutting out. The centers of the doughnuts will be cooked through if you drop only a rounded teaspoonful of batter.
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mace
freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
oil for deep frying
Instructions
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly by stirring with a fork or whisk. In a small bowl, beat the milk, oil, and egg together. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in milk mixture. Stir until smooth, but don’t overbeat. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into fat heated to 375°. Turn doughnuts as they puff up in the fat to brown them evenly. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve with maple syrup or dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
