Donut Worry, Be Happy: Treat Yourself on National Donut Day!

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Donut Worry, Be Happy & Treat Yourself on National Donut Day! Vanessa Santamaria Contributor Miami Moms Blog
My daughter, Gianna, enjoying a donut at The Salty Donut in South Miami

Lately, I’ve been seeing more kids enjoying donuts instead of cake or cupcakes. And although they’re all delicious treats, maybe this donut craze is here to stay. What’s not to love about the fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth goodness? To commemorate this sweet trend, we can all enjoy donuts together (but 6 feet apart!) this Friday, June 5th for National Donut Day! That’s right. There’s an unofficial national holiday dedicated to donuts and it takes place on the first Friday in June every year.

Donut or Doughnut?

But first, let’s get something straight. Is it donut or doughnut? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct spelling is doughnut, but it also includes donut as a “less common spelling of doughnut.” Both terms are defined as “a small usually ring-shaped piece of sweet fried dough.” So, I think it’s safe to say you can spell it either way. Even though I’m an editor and should use the proper spelling, I personally prefer donut because it’s short and catchy, and it also has more visual appeal.

History of Donuts

Where did donuts come from? Wikipedia states that the first reference to “doughnuts” was in an English cookbook from 1803. It is believed that Dutch settlers who arrived in New York were the first to bring oly koek (oily cake) with them. They closely resembled the donuts we’ve come to know, but they did not have the ring shape yet. There are a couple of different theories about how donuts developed their traditional shape. One theory is that the ring-shaped donut was invented in 1847 by a 16-year-old American boy named Hanson Gregory. He was not pleased with how greasy donuts were or that the center would remain raw when the rest was cooked through. So, he punched a hole in the center, showed the trick to his mother, Elizabeth, and she later made the most delicious deep-fried concoctions and referred to them as “doughnuts.”

Donut Worry, Be Happy & Treat Yourself on National Donut Day! Vanessa Santamaria Contributor Miami Moms Blog
Donuts come in all sorts of varieties, so take your pick! Photo by Anna Sullivan on Unsplash

So Many Varieties

Everyone has their favorite donut. Some people prefer plain dough, some like glazed or jelly-filled, and others enjoy fancy concoctions with endless toppings like key lime, oreo, guava, peanut butter, marshmallow, brownie, crispy cereal, coconut, or even bacon. I tend to go for the simpler varieties, but sometimes I’ll indulge if it appeals to me. Last year, my favorite donut was a dragon fruit and passion fruit limited-time option from The Salty Donut. My youngest daughter likes plain Krispy Kreme donuts and my oldest prefers chocolate varieties from Mojo Donuts. The options are endless. Check out our guide to Miami’s best doughnut shops here.

Making Your Own Donuts Is Easy

My girls and I made homemade donuts recently for the first time and I was surprised by how fun and easy it was. We used a baked cinnamon doughnuts recipe from Highlights. Although the traditional American donuts are fried in hot oil, I opted to bake them instead because they have fewer calories and I didn’t want to handle boiling hot oil. Here’s the list of ingredients so you can make them with your kids, too.

Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts

Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 doughnuts

For the doughnuts

  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder

For the cinnamon-and-sugar mix

  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

You can find all the instructions for cooking these yummy donuts on their website. If you prefer fried donuts, try this donut hole recipe. And here’s a great no-yeast recipe for you to check out.

I guess it’s true what they say — everything is better with donuts! What’s YOUR favorite donut?

Enjoy,
Vanessa

 

1 COMMENT

  1. Doughnuts, donuts – either way – you’re speaking my love language! 😉 Thanks for sharing the fun recipe!

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