Oatmeal Fritters

Recipe No. 181 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Fritters and Croquettes. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Flour, sifted — 6 pounds (6 No. 56 dippers)
• Sugar, granulated — 3 pounds (1½ No. 56 dippers)
• Baking powder — 6 ounces (⅓ mess kit cup)
• Salt — 3½ ounces (7 mess kit spoons)
• Cinnamon — ¾ ounce (3 mess kit spoons)
• Nutmeg — 3½ ounces (14 mess kit spoons)
• Oats, rolled — 2¾ pounds (4 No. 56 dippers)
• Milk, evaporated — 3—14½-ounce cans
• Water (for milk) — 1½ pints (¼ No. 56 dipper)
• Eggs, beaten — 14 eggs (¼ No. 56 dipper)
• Shortening, melted — 10 ounces (½ mess kit cup)
• Fat (for frying) — as needed

Directions

Key ingredients

Baking Soda & Baking Powder · Cinnamon · Evaporated Milk

1. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Add rolled oats; mix well.
2. Combine milk, water, beaten egg, and shortening; add to flour mixture and mix well.
3. Drop by spoonfuls into deep hot fat (375° F.) and fry about 4 minutes, turning fritters frequently to cook them evenly.
4. Drain on absorbent paper or a rack.
5. Serve very hot.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Flour, sifted — 7⅔ oz Sugar, granulated — 3¾ oz Baking powder — ½ oz Salt — about 1⅔ tsp Cinnamon — about ⅓ tsp Nutmeg — about 1⅔ tsp Oats, rolled — 3½ oz Milk, evaporated — ½ can (14½ oz) Water (for milk) — 3¾ tbsp Eggs, beaten — 1 eggs Shortening, melted — ¾ oz Fat (for frying) — to taste

Serve with sugar, sugar and cinnamon, sirup, or a sauce.

⚠ As printed, the manual is inconsistent here — “Water (for milk): 1½ pints (¼ No. 56 dipper)”: 1½ pints = 3/4 qt, but gloss says ¼ dippers = 1/4 qt. Transcribed exactly as printed; the parenthetical Army measure is usually the safer one to follow.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 181, Fritters and Croquettes. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.