Beignets

Submitted by CookbookCarrie

"I havent tried this recipe, but it looks simple and very yummy. Posted in response to a recipe request!"

 

• Ready In: 23mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 24 Beignets

ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1⁄2 cups warm water (100-115 degrees F)
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups flour
• 1⁄4 cup vegetable shortening
• oil (for deep frying)
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting (or burying, depending on taste)

directions

1. Put the warm water into a large bowl, then sprinkle in the yeast and a couple teaspoons of the sugar and stir until thoroughly dissolved.
2. Let proof for 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk.
4. Gradually stir in 4 cups of the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and thoroughly blended.
5. Beat in the shortening, then add the remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating it in with a spoon until it becomes too stiff to stir, then working in the rest with your hands.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight in a greased bowl.
7. Roll the dough out onto a floured board or marble pastry surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, then cut it into rectangles 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches with a sharp knife.
8. Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 360 degrees F.
9. Fry the beignets about 3 or 4 at a time until they are puffed out and golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per batch.
10. Turn them over in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown, since they rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff out.
11. Drain each batch on paper towels, place on a platter lined with several layers of paper towels, and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until they're all done.
12. Serve 3 beignets per person, sprinkling heavily with powdered sugar, and serve hot with cafe au lait.

Reviews

[lsustacy]

I absolutely LOVE this dough recipe. I have done both a refridgerator rise and a normal rise with a cloth on top of the dough (until doubled in size). This makes great beignets too!! I can't fry them fast enough for my crew. I do add vanilla into the dough when I add milk.<br/><br/>I also love to use this dough to make king cakes and cinnamon rolls. If you use the dough for a king cake, divide it in half after the dough has doubled in size. Roll it out to a big rectangle, add your choice of filling, roll up and push ends into each other to make an oval. Put on greased baking sheet and bake 375 for 30-40 minutes. Then ice!! Just make sure you divide dough in half....other wise you will have a HUGE king cake that may take over your oven!!<br/><br/>Thank you for a very easy versitle recipe! I have been using it for about 4 months now and I just love it!!!

 

[melilia]

Just like the Milocat, I started on my beignet journey after watching "The Princess and the Frog". The first time I tried this recipe I overworked the dough and used too much flour, not realizing that the dough needs to be much stickier than dough I'm used to working with. Lesson learned: do NOT, whatever you do, use an electric mixer with this recipe, and don't be afraid if the dough is uber sticky.<br/><br/>Also, since I was too impatient to wait 24 hrs for my beignets, I just let the dough rise until doubled in size at room temperature (about 2 hrs) and the beignets were still delightfully puffy. <br/><br/>I now have enough beignets to feed a small army even after using just a quarter of the dough, so next time, I'll be sure to halve the recipe. I'm going to try freezing the dough to see how well it keeps. <br/><br/>Bottom line- yum! Heart attack in 5 years here I come!<br/><br/>UPDATE:<br/>Be certain not to make more beignets than you're going to eat at one go. Once fried, they do *not* keep well, even overnight.

 

[Sunnybrook]

Never again will I buy Cafe Du Monde beignet mix. Although I'm not a fan of using yeast this recipe was so very easy. The beignets were wonderful!!! I will agree with other reviewers who said that it makes a huge amount of food. I used about 2/3 of the dough and got about 50 beignets. I probably make them a bit smaller than recommended though. I did not leave the dough in the frig overnight either. I'm going to leave what's left over in the frig and fry it up in a day or so. I also used my kitchen aid to mix the dough. Absolutely fantastic recipe!!!!!!!

 

[heavenlyherbs]

I made this recipe last night and fried the Beignets this morning and served them with cafe au lait; reminded me of Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Best Beignet recipe I have made, easy with a few adjustments. Instead of the hand mixing, I used my normal Kitchen Aide blade on 2 to mix the first four cups of flour into the batter, then I switched to the bread hook and added the rest of the batter, increased the speed for dough and let run until the dough cleaned the sides of the bowl and formed a ball. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I only fried up half the recipe as it makes a lot of dough and used the other half to make some awesome Cinnamon Rolls. The rolls have light, tender bread with a slight sweet taste in addition to the cinnamon and sugar mixture. YUM, definitely a keep, I would have served both in my Tea Room if I still had it opened.

 

[evelynathens]

The whole family loved these heavenly, deep-fried treats. I halved the recipe and I still managed to make 15 beignets! Better than donuts (I think - let me get a donut!), crispy outside, puffy/tender inside, and a nice sprinkling of icing sugar to lend just the right sweet note. Not for everyday - definitely special.