It all started when my daddy handed over a box of old cookbooks that belonged to my mama.
This is the first one I picked up.
Um, 1937.
This sucker is old and well loved. It was a gift to my great-grandmother (Kate…my namesake) from my grandmother (Dorothy Jo).
When I first found it, I dropped to my knees and carefully turned each page and read every word.
There are a lot of real gems in here…let me tell you. Things your arteries will hate you for, but your taste buds will worship you for. You know, like…doughnut snow balls.
I have to be honest. I tried to healthy this recipe up a bit on my first go-around, but…um, well…you probably need to just fry these little snow balls.
Baking them was fine. Frying was exceptional. Just forget about your cholesterol for two dang seconds. Heck, my grandparents all lived into their late eighties/nineties (my nonnie is still kicking it at ninety-one) – and this is how they ate every stinking day.
So just relax and pull out the deep fat. I promise you can put it away after this and we’ll have salads tomorrow.
What could be more patriotic than fried things with ice cream?
Doughnut Snowball Jars
PRINT Recipe
- 2 eggs
- 1 C milk
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1 1/2 t salt
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 T butter (or crisco, if you so happen to have it on hand)
- 3 C flour
- 3 T baking powder
- about 1 1/2 C vegetable or canola oil
- 2 scoops of ice cream
- strawberries
- blueberries
- mint for garnish
Mix the eggs, sugar, and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla, milk, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix until combined.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a smallish saucepan. When it’s hot, drop 2-3 spoonfuls of dough in the oil and fry for about 2 minutes, flipping half-way through. Repeat with remaining dough.
Layer the berries, snowballs, and ice cream in a jar and have a lovely fourth of July!


i love these recipes, they are more than just ingredients. they are memories, they are life! and you know what, they are probably healthier than half the low cal stuff we try to make today. KEEP IT REAL. xoxo
Um wow…that looks amazing! And totally worth forgetting the calories for a few
. Hope you have a fantastic holiday!!
This looks amazing!!
Happy 4th of July!
Those look amazing! And I absolutely love old family cookbooks. There are always some real gems in there!!
I am with you Katie – live a little every once in awhile. Our ancestors used to eat lard, crisco and real butter on and in everything and many lived longer than we are!
those look amazing – so fun and festive!
and a little fat never hurt anyone!
Oh my goodness, worth every single calorie – for sure! Happy 4th of July!
That’s really cool that it’s from 1937! My grandmother was a Dorothy too (though she went by Dottie or Dot).
I love these! And I agree, some things just can’t and shouldn’t be lightened. Your nonnie is living proof that a life lived well and in balance is all you need
Love you friend, happy 4th!!
I LOVE this recipe and can’t wait to try it! (Pinning it right now!!!).
Looks delicious! I agree that sometimes you just need to follow a dang recipe. Don’t get me wrong…baked donuts are really good (um…hello Ashley’s recipes!!) but I also know that the fried ones make my heart sing every so often!
Wow – you are talented! And that looks amazing…Happy Fourth of July to you guys!
Wow, your photography is just beautiful. I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now, and the way the photography has improved in such a short time is just amazing. Great work! This recipe looks mighty tasty too
i’ll take fried things with ice cream – IN JARS – any day! happy 4th of july sweetheart!
Those look awesome! Especially with berries and ice cream.
Happy 4th of July from your Canadian neighbours up North
You just can’t beat these old recipes. And sometimes, you just need to deep fry things because they just taste better that way.
Ummm YES PLEASE I WANT THOSE IN MY TUMMY NOWWWW!!!
I’ll happily trade clogged arteries for happy taste buds any day!
This looks AMAZING, especially with the ice cream and berries!
I love her handwriting!
oh and my grandma’s name is Dorothy. I love that name.
Can you imagine how many wonderful memories have come from that book? What an amazing thing to have
I love timelss old recipes like this. There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting down with my grandmother’s old cookbook with a cup of coffee
It’s so beaten up and practically falling apart, but I cherish it!
WOW, this recipe makes me even more excited to move in!
these are too cute! / i could see this going horribly wrong, aka me watching dawson’s creek on the couch for five hours, eating away at multiple jars of these
Fun!! What a unique and great idea!! Hope you had an amazing 4th!! Xo
[...] See, I told you we could eat salad after that deep fried mess on Wednesday. [...]
Cheers to Nonnie’s! I miss mine dearly. This looks good!
“…or crisco, if you so happen to have it on hand” I’m sure there are HUNDREDS of young food bloggers everywhere Googling “crisco” as I type this comment! Lol
There is nothing better than stumbling over family gems like these…dishes that brought smiles to so many faces so many years ago and STILL do to this day! And what a way to showcase these beauties! Love the photos!
Kate Bush would be so proud. Your would be laughing that wonderful laugh if hers!! Love you!
Yummy! Crisco work on anything and sweetens the taste buds in the south! Plus in the HELP she has lots of reasons to use Crisco! I love it and I love reading through old recipe books. My momma’s home ec. book had her writings all over it like : Daisy loves Harold ha! Sweet! We miss you!
You know, I’ve heard that deep frying can actually be LESS artery clogging than pan frying because the high heat/short cook time means that the food absorbs less of the oil. How’s that for a justification for you?
These look incredibly worth it regardless!