Time to make the fasnachts ...

Today marks the Pennsylvania Dutch holiday of Fasnacht Day, a tradition celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday that entails enjoying rich and tasty foods before the Lenten fast. Fasnachts, a popular treat for the event, are a type of doughnut that is slightly crisp on the outside, but not quite as sweet as an average doughnut.

Gilbert resident Margaret Kluk knows those Pennsylvania Dutch doughnuts inside and out, as she has been making them for over 60 years, and she plans on passing the tradition down through her family.

“I learned from my mother. My mother always made them for Doughnut Day,” she said. “I taught my kids, my grandkids, and now, my great-grandkids.”

What really sets Kluk’s fasnachts apart from plain old doughnuts is a recipe that calls for something a little different. Though there are several variations around the world, Kluk swears by her family’s traditional mix that includes mashed potatoes and potato water, which make for a richer product.

“I think they taste better, because you have the potatoes, the potato water, the eggs and such. You don’t put any milk in it, even though a lot of doughnuts have milk in them nowadays,” Kluk said.

On Monday night, Kluk began preparing the dough with her grandchildren and her great-grandson, Adam Drinkwater, who pitched in for the second year in a row.

“I think it’s cool,” he said after kneading some dough.

The recipe is a simple mix of flour, shortening, yeast, mashed potatoes, potato water, sugar and eggs, though the proportions are a family secret.

After some proofing, mixing and kneading, the dough is covered and left to rise overnight, rolled out and cut, and then fried in vegetable shortening, though lard can be used as well.

By the time she’s done, Kluk will turn out nearly 400 fresh fasnachts in several varieties, including plain, powdered sugar, cinnamon, chocolate frosted, vanilla frosted and sprinkled.

“We always looked forward to them,” Kluk’s granddaughter and Adam’s mother Elizabeth Drinkwater said. “This is like a big family tradition, where we all come and grab our fasnachts.”

Of course, Kluk’s husband, Joe, is always around for a taste test.

“She makes ’em, and I eat ’em,” he said with a chuckle.

Throughout Fasnacht Day, members of Kluk’s family will swing by her house to pick up a batch of the homemade pastries.

“When you come by in the morning, you see a parking lot full of family members stopping in for their doughnuts and cinnamon buns,” Kluk’s grandson Jason Cameron said.

And when someone from the family can’t make it, Kluk will ship a batch out. She’s even sent fasnachts overseas to family members in military service, just so they could enjoy a taste of home.

And that’s what makes Fasnacht day so special for Kluk and her kin — that special connection shared through a simple pastry. It’s a pleasant little representation of her giving nature, and how much she loves her family.

“I love making them. As far as eating them, no, I don’t eat them, but I love to make them,” she said with a laugh. “I love to do it.”