vanity cakes
This recipe appeared in the Iroquois Herald, a Kingsbury County newspaper, in 1882:

Recipe for "PUFFS, which are nice made for tea, call for one pint of sweet milk, six ounces of sifted flour, four eggs, a good pinch of salt. The milk must be scalded, and then be allowed to cool a little, then stir the flour in, not leaving a single lump. Beat the eggs till they are very light, then add the milk and flour. Fry these in hot lard, dropping a spoonful at a time, as you do for fritters. By taking pains you can make these puffs as round as balls. Do not let them string from the spoon, but, holding it down close to the lard, cut the batter off with a knife. Sift powdered sugar over them just before sending them to the table."
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:57 PM