The Salvation Army created National Doughnut Day in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers in World War I. The following recipe with full credit given to the Salvation Army:
Yield: 60 donuts
INGREDIENTS
2 large eggs
5 cups flour
2 cup sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 3/4 cup milk
1 tub lard (this can be substituted with butter or vegetable oil)
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients (except for oil) to make dough.
Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth, and cut into less than 1/4 inch thick rings. (When finding items to cut out donut circles, be creative! Salvation Army Donut Lassies used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.)
Drop the rings into the oil, making sure the oil is hot enough to brown the donuts gradually. Turn the donuts slowly several times.
When browned, remove the donuts and allow excess oil to drip off.
Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool down and enjoy!
National Doughnut Day history starts with the Salvation Army during WWI. This recipe is on their website and we believe the original doughnut recipe to feed troops.