Disappointing Donut Debacle

Lard.  Maybe it was the lard I couldn’t find.  Or the recipe from 1971, perhaps mis-transcribed.  The memory isn’t incorrect, of this I’m sure.  Those donuts were so good. Cake donuts, like you get at the orchard. Firm and browned on the outside, tender fall flavor in the middle.  Fried in a cast iron skillet, drained on paper grocery bags.   An autumn treat, circa middle-school years.

Well, these weren’t those donuts:

I was optimistic when rolling them out…

And they looked right when frying…

But ultimately — a big fail.  Super dense and hard, not at all like I remembered my dad’s.  There’s a lot of theories on this — not enough baking powder/soda, the peanut oil I used instead of the lard I couldn’t find (! in NYC, no lard!). Maybe cooked too long or rolled too thin.  Whatever the problem, it just didn’t happen for me here.

It ain’t all gourmet and smiles in my kitchen, and here’s an example of a fail I’ll have to try again.  Or not.  Maybe the memory is better.

p.s. I don’t want to talk about the gingerbread I tried to make last week.