What’s sweet, shiny, and round with a hole in the middle? Our favorite glazed treat, of course! June 6 marks the annual celebration known as National Doughnut Day, and we’ve got our mug of piping hot coffee ready to dunk them in (or for some, a frosted mug of chocolate almond milk)!
While we spend many early mornings pondering where the nearest vegan doughnut is or what is our favorite flavor combination of sticky glaze and fluffy dough, we’ve never thought to ask about the origin of the doughnut.
Luckily, Smithsonian Magazine [1] has the answer. According to the publication, our beloved sweet treat has been around just about forever––apparently archaeologists have dug up fossils in prehistoric Native American settlements that appear to be parts of doughnuts!
As we know them, however, doughnuts are said to have come to America from the Dutch, and were then known as “oily cakes” (we think “doughnuts” sound much yummier). It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that a ship captain’s mom from New England, Elizabeth Gregory, decided to adorn her fried dough with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon rind. Inside the dough’s center, she placed hazelnuts and walnuts––hence the name “doughnut.” Gregory’s creation led to the rainbow assortment of doughnut toppings we know today.
Whether or not you are a history buff, we can all agree that doughnuts taste heavenly and nothing beats the smell of a baker’s dozen of freshly fried and glazed vegan doughnuts. So to celebrate National Doughnut Day, we’ve got five of our sweetest and fluffiest classic and reinvented recipes for you to try straight from the cooks at VegWeb.com.
The Tried-and-True Classic Glazed Doughnut
[2]Fluffy Oven-Baked Doughnuts
[3]Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Holes
[4]Nutmeg-Spiced Doughnut Squares [5]
The Best Vanilla Glaze
[6]Decadent Chocolate Glaze [7]
Happy doughnut making!
Love,
Webmistress Melissa
