These New Orleans Beignets are a great way to bring a taste of New Orleans into your home around Mardi Gras. A beignet is like a square doughnut with no hole and they are typically eaten for breakfast when you can pick them up in cafés and eat them with a café au lait while you get powdered sugar all over your face!
These are surprisingly simple to make too. Start by making a basic dough from yeast, sugar, milk, eggs, salt, and flour. Chill for a few hours in the refrigerator before rolling out the dough and cutting it into squares. Fry the squares in batches and dust with powdered sugar. Just try to eat these without getting sugar all over your lips!
To make my version of New Orleans Beignets, you will need the following ingredients:
Mix the sachet of yeast with ½ cup of warm water, and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of evaporated milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of salt and the remaining granulated sugar.
Microwave the remaining 1 cup water until hot (about 115°). Stir in ¼ cup of shortening until it melts.
Pour the water and shortening mixture into the yeast mixture.
Beat the dough at low speed and gradually add 4 cups flour until you have a smooth dough. Add the remaining 2 ½ to 3 cups of flour gradually, beating until a sticky dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and swirl so the dough is evenly coated all over. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.
Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.
Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut the dough into 2 ½ inch squares.
Pour vegetable oil into a Dutch oven to a depth of 2 - 3 inches. Heat the oil to 360 °F. Fry the dough squares in batches for 2 - 3 minutes on each side until they are a golden brown color. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels.
Dust immediately with plenty of powdered sugar.
These New Orleans Beignets are a real taste of New Orleans and are perfect to make for Mardi Gras. Try them out this year & come back to leave a review.
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