When a dish has the first name of Jolly, you just have to trust that it will deliver happiness.

“;My older sister went to Leilehua High School in the '70s, and in her homemaking class she got a recipe called Jolly Breakfast Ring,”; wrote Paula Sacapulo. “;It was like a ring of little doughnuts with nuts and cinnamon.”;

I doubt there could be more than one dish with this exact name, so I believe I've found it. The recipe seems to date to 1957, from “;Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls,”; by Gloria Kamen. In modern times the recipe has been reproduced many times on Internet sites that cater to kids' cooking or simple breakfast dishes.

Part of that old cookbook's charm was that it featured 12 children who tested all the recipes to guarantee them kid-friendly. Last year Gourmet magazine tracked down a few of them, now in their 60s. (Curious? Go to http://www.gourmet.com/food/2008/01/kitchen_crushes). But that's a digression. Back to the jolly ring.

It's easy to see this as a recipe for a class of beginner cooks. It's simple and tactile — the only technique involved is stirring (15 strokes exactly, the recipe specifies), then you get to roll up balls of dough by hand. The result is a pretty ring with maraschino cherry studs. The “;little doughnuts”; that Sacapulo remembers are those balls of dough, which bake up into sugary pieces that pull apart easily from the ring.

One tip: You should unmold the ring while it's hot. If it cools in the mold, it might stick. Also, the nuts are not optional. This is experience talking. I tried making one without, as my kids aren't big on nutty baked things, but the nutless glaze turned into Super Glue. I had to pry it out of the mold. Wasn't pretty, and goes to show it's possible to mess up even the simplest recipe if you get too cocky.

JOLLY BREAKFAST RING

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons chopped nuts
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
» Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
12 maraschino cherries
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make glaze: Pour melted butter into bottom of 9-inch ring mold or bundt pan. Spread evenly. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Place cherries on top of sugar around mold. Sprinkle with nuts.

Combine sugar, cinnamon and remaining nuts. Set aside. Place melted butter in small bowl.

In separate bowl, combine Bisquick with milk. Stir just to combine, 15 strokes. Batter will be sticky.

Shape dough into 12 balls about 2 inches in diameter (coat hands in more Bisquick to minimize stickiness). Roll each ball in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon mixture. Place balls in ring mold. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.

While ring is still hot, carefully turn mold upside down onto a plate. Serves 4 to 6.

Nutritional information unavailable.

A mango mystery

With mango season at its height, I'd really like to take care of this request from Shirley Whittington. She's misplaced a mango bread recipe that used 2 cups of vegetable oil for a single loaf. Few recipes use more than 1 cup. Whittington says this loaf was exceptionally moist, more like a cake. It had nuts and raisins, too. Anybody have this recipe? Send it here.

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Send queries to “;By Request,”; Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Send e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).