New Orleans Beignets
Like most of you, I have a bucket list and it’s quite extensive. I have many events I would like to attend, activities I want to experience and also many countries and places I would like to visit. New Orleans is one of them and a couple of years ago, David and I were ready to go, everything was booked and Covid happened. What can I say, c’est la vie! Until we get down to the Big Easy, I still enjoy making their tasty recipes.
Today is Mardi Gras and obviously I couldn’t resist to feature one of the city’s famous food staples. Here’s my version of New Orleans Beignets! This is a popular breakfast item at Café du Monde along with its café au lait although nothing stops you from enjoying them as a dessert or a midnight snack!
As you already guess, there’s some influence Française to this sweet treat. The method of deep-frying Pâte à Choux (choux pastry) was from the French but the Big Easy version puts a twist on it and adds yeast to the dough making them irresistible. Don’t get me wrong, both are delicious and taste amazing with their differences. My take on it is I add a lovely ingredient to my flour… ground cinnamon! This little touch brings these New Orleans Beignets to a whole new level of scrumptiousness…
Like any of my dough recipes, I like to raise it in a draft-free area such as the oven with the temperature off. During the coldest months my kitchen is not as warm so what I like to do is, when my yeast is proofing, I turn the oven to 350ºF for a couple of minutes before turning the heat off. By the time I’m done forming my dough into a ball and placing it in a bowl covered with a clean dish towel, the oven has a comfortable temperature for the dough to rise.
After we cut the dough into 2 ½-inch pieces – I use a ruler… why not – we can go ahead and fry them or freeze them. To do so, place the squares in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and transfer them to the freezer. Once hard, place them in a re-sealable freezer bag or airtight container and back to the freezer until needed for up to 1 month. Allow them to thaw out on the counter before frying and dusting.
When it’s time to fry them, I use a heavy bottom skillet and bring the temperature to 375ºF. Why not 350ºF, you may ask. As soon as you add food to the hot oil, the temperature will drop drastically so by bringing it up a little higher, you’ll get the perfect cook. Another factor to obtain nice puffy golden doughnuts is to not overcrowd the skillet and work in batches so they have plenty of room to cook evenly. If the beignets don’t rise to the top, it means the oil is not hot enough.
Any respectable New Orleans Beignets are buried in powdered sugar. To achieve that, what I like to do is use a paper bag – it’s the same as the one’s our mothers placed our sandwiches and apples in when we were kids… I guess we used to call that a “lunch bag”. Like my skillet, I don’t overcrowd it otherwise they won’t coat properly, place a few hot ones in the bag, close it, give it a good shake and voilà, my little guys are nicely coated… it’s that easy!
I can simply close my eyes, imagine I’m sitting on the patio at Café du Monde on Decatur Street right in the French Quarter and take a bite of these delicious New Orleans Beignets. This is what I call the perfect indulgence!
Bon Appétit!
Check out these other scrumptious recipes…
– Chocolate Éclairs
– Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
– Mille-Feuille
– Limoncello Crème Brûlée
– Bananas Foster
– Black Forest Cake
and for even more dessert recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Dessert
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New Orleans Beignets
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Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water (between 105-110ºF)
- 3 tbsp. honey tips & tricks
- 1 large free-run egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or as needed and divided plus more for work surface
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 tbsp. grapeseed oil, to grease the bowl tips & tricks
- 5 cups canola oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, or as needed
- 1 medium brown paper bag
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, water and honey; stir. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla extract. Beat the ingredients until well blended and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, cinnamon and salt; whisk and set aside.
- When the yeast is alive, add egg mixture and process on medium speed until blended using the paddle attachment.
- Switch to dough hook attachment and add 3 cups flour mixture and butter; process on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to 3 and working by tablespoons, add the remaining ½ cup flour or as needed until the dough is smooth.
- Form a ball by pulling under and place dough in a bowl lightly greased with grapeseed oil. Cover with a clean dish towel and transfer to a draft-free spot for 2 hours or until it doubles in size.
- On a work surface generously floured, roll out the dough into a rectangle down to ¼-inch thick. Cut it into 2 ½-inch squares using a pizza cutter. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper while making the others.
- In a heavy bottom skillet, bring canola oil to 375ºF
- Working in batches and not overcrowding, carefully drop in the dough squares and fry until golden and plump, flipping them half way, about 1 minute per side. If beignets don’t pop up and float it’s because the oil is not hot enough.
- Using a spider strainer, transfer them to a wire rack sitting on a baking sheet while working with the others.
- Add hot beignets to a paper bag with confectioners’ sugar. Close the bag and shake it until well coated. Serve them immediately. Makes 4 dozen
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