Buttermilk or Sour Milk Doughnuts
rec.food.cooking/Elizabeth Fike
Makes about 3 dozen doughnuts

From an old cookbook belonging to my Grandma

2 tbsp shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/4 tsp. each nutmeg and cinnamon
OR
2 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Blend in beaten eggs. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with liquid. Chill dough 2 hours to make easier to handle. Turn part of dough onto floured cloth-covered board. Round up, roll out gently 1/3" thick. Cut with floured doughnut cutter. Lift with floured hands or wide spatula, and drop into hot fat (see below). Then roll and cut remaining dough a little at a time.

To fry doughnuts:

Drop into hot fat (4-inches deep, about 4 lb) in a wide heavy kettle. (See temperature below.) Fry as many at a time as can be turned easily. As soon as doughnut rises to surface and shows a little color, tunr it over. Turn again as soon as underside becomes brown. When completely brown (about 3 minutes), lift from fat with long 2-tined fork thrust through hold. Do not prick doughnuts. Drain over kettle. Then place on absorbent paper in warm place to drain.

Temperature:

390 degrees (a cube of bread browns in the fat in 40 seconds) just before doughnuts are dropped in. The fat immediately cools somewhat when doughnuts are dropped in. It should be at 370 to 380 while frying.