Kids Dish

Since I’m Jewish my knowledge of Christian religious traditions is rather limited. I remember every year I’d see people with dirty foreheads and I never really made the Ash Wednesday connection until I was in high school. I remember smacking myself in the forehead and thinking, “Duh,” when I figured that one out.

Today, the day before Lent begins, is Fastnacht Day, a German tradition that’s also celebrated not too far from me in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. I’d never heard of Fastnacht Day, until a few local bloggers, wrote about the tradition and linked to the wikipedia article.

Jennie wrote:

But most importantly, it’s Fat Tuesday here in Pennsylvania, which means any god-fearing life-long resident with a German heritage is making a batch of oh-so-bad-for-you-but-unnervingly-delicious fried fauschnauts (the counterpart to pancakes and doughnuts in other parts of the world that observe “Shrove� Tuesday). When I was growing up in the rural heart of Pennsylvania, my school actually celebrated Fauschnaut Day by serving homemade fauschnauts at lunch. To this day I am baffled by how a cafeteria renowned for its inedible cuisine was able to churn out these little balls of heaven once a year. My mom also made homemade fauschnauts during much of my childhood, and I adored swiping them straight out of the cinnamon sugar mixture while they were still piping hot. Ah, the memories…

A quick recipe search came up with several different versions of the Fat Tuesday treat but the one I’m going to share comes from Alice Faust, a Pennsylvania native. This recipe was originally printed in Dig It magazine. It’s one of three recipes printed and this one seems like it would be the best dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar.

Alice Faust’s Family Recipe #2: Fashnachts with Yeast

2 cups scalded milk
½ cup lard
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 teaspoons salt
¾ cup sugar
2 well beaten eggs
1 package yeast
7 cups flour, approximately

Scald milk and add mashed potatoes, sugar, salt, and lard. Cool until lukewarm. Add eggs. Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise about 1 ½ hours. Roll ¼ in thick on a
floured board. Place on a cloth and let rise until doubled in size and fry in hot fat.