Beignets

We love beignets.  Light, crispy, chewy, sweet; how could anyone not love a beignet?  If you're wondering what a beignet is, click here.  I was first introduced to beignets many years ago when I traveled to Louisiana to meet my in-laws.  I tried the famous Cafe Du Monde beignets and of course they were delicious.

A few months ago we received a box of Cafe Du Monde beignet mix from our family in the South (you can order a box here).  We quickly went through our beignet mix and my kids have been asking me to make more.  Maybe you're wondering, 'Why don't I just order another box?'  Well, the mix is inexpensive until you add $8 for shipping!  It's not just the cost.  I'm also wondering if beignets made from scratch will taste even better than beignets made from the mix.  I've decided to try the beignet recipe on whatscookingamerica.net.  We'll see which is better...

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, room temperature and beaten

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup evaporated milk

4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Vegetable oil*

Powdered sugar for dusting

* Use just enough vegetable oil to completely cover beignets while frying.

Directions

Using a mixer with a dough hook, place water, sugar, salt, egg, butter, evaporated milk, flour, and yeast in the bowl. Beat until smooth. If using a bread machine, select dough setting and press Start. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. form dough into an oval, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled (3 to 4 hours) or overnight.

To prepare dough, remove from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured board to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into approximately 3-inch squares or circles.

In a deep fryer or large pot, heat vegetable oil to 360 degrees F. Fry the beignets (2 or 3 at a time) 2 to 3 minutes or until they are puffed and golden brown on both sides, turning them in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown; beignets will rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff. NOTE: If the beignets don't rise to the top immediately when dropped into the oil, the oil is not hot enough. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels, then sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

The dough can be kept for up to a week in the refrigerator - it actually improves with age; just punch down when it rises. Dough can also be frozen; cut and roll, or shape doughnuts before freezing.)

Makes 18 beignets.

The Ingredients

I use the bread machine for dough whenever possible.  It's so much easier.  I put all the wet ingredients on the bottom and the dry ingredients on top with the butter.  I used the dough setting and let the machine do the rest of the work.

When the dough was done I put it in a greased bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and left it in the refrigerator overnight....

Here's what I found the next morning.

I rolled out the dough and used a pizza cutter to cut small squares.

I heated the oil to 360 degrees and started frying.

Flip and fry some more.

Lots of sugar!

The Results... 

So, were these as good as the Cafe Du Monde beignets?  Unfortunately, no.  These were still quite tasty.  We ate our beignets with raspberry sauce and we had no problem finishing them off.   But, they were more like regular raised donuts not beignets.  The Cafe Du Monde beignets fry up lighter with a hollow center.  These were denser and solid all the way through like regular donuts.  These were not what we expected.  Tasty, but not what we think of as a beignet.  Cafe Du Monde is still the best.