Revolutionary War Balls

I am lucky to live in Philadelphia, a city so rich in history that one can walk down a street and see Benjamin Franklin's grave, Betsy Ross's house, and the Liberty Bell within a few blocks. Since many of the buildings are original (a lot of them dating from the late 1700's), I cannot help but wonder what the city looked like when our nation was just beginning--when Ben and Betsy were still kickin' and the Bell had yet to crack. All this musing prompted me to think about the Revolutionary War, and therefore research the food of that time. I found a few interesting recipes, and although Bannock Cakes (a mixture of cornmeal and water) sounded super, I decided to go with a recipe called Revolutionary War Balls. According to my sources, militia men carried these in their pockets. Cooks.com, foodista.com, and wikianswers.com all agree that the recipe is as follows:

1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 big dash nutmeg
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon sugar

Mix 8 ingredients. Drop by tablespoon in hot fat. While warm, roll in sugar or cinnamon mixture.

The verdict: Revolutionary War Balls are essentially fried dough--something that you might find at a carnival, like funnel cake. Because they are so delicious, I find it hard to believe that militia men carried them in their pockets during the Revolutionary War. Having said that, I can imagine a soldier's sweetie tucking a few of these in a handkerchief for her man before he left home. If you're going to attempt this recipe, make sure you keep the dough in the fat (canola oil will do just fine) until they are golden brown. A few of my Revolutionary War Balls came out a little undercooked because I had to experiment with the timing since many old recipes don't give certain specifics (such as temperature and times). Other than some missing details in the recipe, these were pretty simple and in my opinion, worth a shot.

Happy adventuring!