Donuts on Halloween is a huge family tradition in our house.  

It all started with my husband's grandmother who, like many moms back in the 40s and 50s, made donuts to pass out to trick-or-treaters.  

But then the 70s happened.  Remember what happened in the 70s?  

I mean, a lot of things happened in the 70s to cause Halloween to evolve from the innocent idyllic event it once was.  Like the introduction of the first gore-horror films, starting with The Exorcist; the explosion of new candies on the market; the adultification of Halloween Parties; and the increased popularity of "canned" licensed Halloween costumes.  

But something specific changed the way we saw each other.  We were suddenly suspicious of every stranger, wary of our "weird" neighbors, untrusting of the average Joe on the street.  And it was all a fraud.

This article explains: 

Poisoned Candy: A time when Halloween became America’s most dangerous holiday

Do YOU still check your kids' Halloween candy when they get home from trick-or-treating Halloween night?  Is there any evidence that you need to?  None.  None at all.

And maybe that's the scariest part!  

And maybe it's a reason to get back to those idyllic days of homemade donuts on Halloween!

In our family, like Mom and Grandma before us, we still do.  

In fact, we're pretty serious about our donuts.  Don't believe me?  Here.  I'll share this treasured family recipe with you:

 

Grandma's Spudnuts

3 Tablespoons Yeast, 1 Cup Warm Water, 1 Tablespoon Sugar, 1 Cup Hot Water, 1 Cup Shortening, 1 Cup Sugar, 2 Cups Warm Mashed Russet Potatoes, 2 teaspoons Salt, 1 Cup Cold Water, 6 Eggs, beaten, 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, 1 teaspoon grated Lemon Rind (optional), 14 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Yes, you're reading that right--FOURTEEN CUPS), 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Milk.

Use a 4 gallon plastic storage bucket or VERY large bowl for raising dough.

Dissolve yeast and 1 Tablespoon sugar in warm water.  Mix hot water, shortening, 1 cup of sugar and warm potatoes until shortening is softened.  Add cold water to make lukewarm.

Add dissolved yeast and eggs.  Mix.  Add lemon juice and powdered milk.  Add lemon rind if desired.  Mix.

Add half the flour and mix into a better.  Continue adding flour 1 cup at a time until dough is smooth and kneadable, but not too firm.  Add additional flour if needed.  

Let raise one hour.  Punch down and let raise on hour more.

Cut ball of dough into workable amounts.  Roll onto a floured surface until 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with a donut cutter and place cut raw donuts on waxed paper to raise until double in size. Repeat with remainder of dough. (By the time you have all the donuts cut, the first cut donuts should be risen enough to fry.)

Fry in 1 inch hot oil in a large electric skillet.  Oil should be heated to about 350 degreesF.  Fry on both sides, about 1 minute per side, turning with a bamboo skewer.

Remove donuts to a papered surface to drain.  Glaze while still warm.  Glaze (glazes about 30 donuts): 1 Can Evaporated Milk, 2 ts Vanilla, Powdered Sugar.  Mix milk and vanilla.  Add enough powdered sugar to make glaze about the consistency of a thin syrup.  Dunk donuts in glaze.  Allow glaze to dry a few minutes before serving.

 

This recipe makes 100 to 120 donuts, and we make them every year and give them out to friends and neighbors.  It's a community thing.  It brings people together.  Friends we don't see often enough stop by our house for fresh donuts on Halloween night.  We have regulars who ask every year: "You're making donuts this year, right?"  It's less a question than a demand! 

Because we are still a product of that 1970s fraud, we don't give them away to just anyone.  Only people we know.

Of course, we eat too many of those donuts ourselves.  They make a great breakfast the next morning, too.  Just microwave them for 20 seconds and they're as soft and warm as they were when they were fresh from the fryer the night before.

What happens when we don't make the donuts?  We're not POSITIVE, but we're pretty sure failure to make donuts brings Halloween curses.  The ONE year we did not make them, (we were out of town for the weekend) we came home to a toilet-papered yard.  Curses!

If you're not up to making 120 donuts (and even if you are) there are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween and bring family and friends together.  

We have loads of great options for you, including some NEW PRODUCTS!

Check out our NEW Scratch-Off Halloween Countdown Coloring Poster.  It's a DIY.  Write in the boxes what you want to do to celebrate Halloween each day, then apply the provided scratch-off stickers for you or the kids to scratch off each day.  And, of course, COLOR!  Lots of fun Spooky-time shapes to color and decorate!

We also have a NEW Halloween Coloring Tablecloth!  Color it with washable markers and you'll be able to wash and reuse it for years of Halloween parties.   It comes in 2 sizes, depending on the size of your table.  48X60 inch, or 48X84 inch.

We also have a great selection of Halloween Coloring Posters and Banners.   Something for every budget, including our FREE Halloween Mandala Coloring Book, available exclusively to our email subscribers .  Not a subscriber?  SIGN UP HERE!

Still looking for Halloween ideas?  

Check out my other shop, Wild Blu Yonder!  There you'll find my hugely popular Vinyl Halloween Bat Stickers, Felt Halloween Bats, Halloween Fairy Door Accesories, and our SUPER cute Halloween Countdown Calendar!

Thanks for supporting our family-owned shops!

*Images generated by AI