Doughnut QUEEN

As a kid I could eat an incredible amount of donuts….And as an adult, I still can! I recently re-discovered a local donut place in the area, and was in heaven. On my drive home, covered in powder sugar and coconut I started thinking about how much I love donuts.

The first thing up for discussion is how to spell the word that means “fried dough food”. Is it donut or doughnut? A little bit of research says that either spelling is acceptable, and early on it was doughnut because it was a ball of dough, that when fried look like a nut so they smushed the words together. The history of a doughnut is interesting and there are many legends of the name, how the ‘hole’ came about, and the important role they played during WWI and WWII. Doughnuts were served to the homesick American doughboys by the Salvation Army Lassies, and in later wars, the Red Cross employed women as Donut Dollies, in charge of recreation and bring a sense of home to the men serving.

Ok, enough history, let’s talk about the delicious kinds of doughnuts. Growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania we celebrated Fastnacht Day. It falls on Fat Tuesday, and the PA Dutch use a potato based dough and all the fat in the house before Lent starts. Fastnachts don’t always have a hole in them and are covered in powdered sugar. My nana makes them about a week before Lent starts so you have plenty of time to eat them. Our family also freezes them so we can enjoy them throughout the year. Nobody has been able to convince her to make them more than one time a year… they can be labor intensive, but so worth it!

Another local favorite in Lititz is a Long John, and no, I’m not talking about underwear that keeps you warm! It is a long shaped doughnut with vanilla, chocolate, or peanut butter icing. The best place to go for these is Achenbachs. Taste them here! When we are enjoying the summer at the beach, we stop by the Fractured Prune, which has some crazy variations of doughnuts and could be mistaken for dessert more than breakfast!

The place that inspired this blog post is Carolina Crème. It is small local joint that puts their own spin on doughnuts. They have the original glazed, cake, jelly, and Boston cream doughnuts. But the one that I devoured on Saturday was a cake doughnut, perfectly done with a crispy outside, a light white frosting, sprinkled with coconut. It was amazing, and while I ordered I was offered another one with chocolate frosting. While I passed, I think I will take up the offer next time. My mouth is watering just thinking of the ‘mound’ flavored doughnut!

If I need a doughnut fix and I am not near one of these local bakeries, there is nothing wrong with Dunkin Donuts, or Krispy Kreme. Of course, you should only stop at KK if the light is on, and grab a hat while you are in there! This healthy obsession with doughnuts is ok as long as my metabolism keeps up with me and I only indulge now and then! So is it a coincidence that I watched Donut Paradise on the travel channel this morning?! I think not … I may have a new calling as a doughnut taster!

Whether your dunking in coffee, milk, or getting covered in powdered sugar…. Happy Doughnut Eating!

UPDATE: Homemade fastnacht made by my Nana! It was amazing!