Before I moved to Louisiana, I had no idea how big of a deal Mardi Gras is here. Um, yeah, my kids are out of school. My friend Becky in New Orleans has a kid who’s out for 10 days. 10. During the last few years, I’ve really come to love Mardi Gras (lots of fun, very little work on my part–totally my kind of holiday!), so the kids and I were pretty bummed when our parade got rained out on Saturday. To make up for it, we watched The Princess and the Frog, made Beignets (pronounced ben-yays, JUST in case you might be wondering), and I stopped just short of throwing beads and plastic cups at my kids and my cat.
I love this recipe because these babies are not just super, super delicious, but they are so easy, the dough can be made the night before and refrigerated, and they only require one short rise.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Whole milk
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Table salt
- All-purpose flour
- Active dry yeast
- Warm water
- Egg
- Peanut oil – For frying.
How to Make Beignets
- You’ll start by heating some milk, sugar, salt, and oil on the stove top until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. You’ll also get some yeast blooming in water and sugar.
- That all gets mixed up with some flour and and egg to make a soft dough that will stick to your fingers.
- At this point you can either refrigerate the dough for later or continue to the next step.
- When ready to cook, you’ll turn the dough out onto a floured surface, roll it out, and cut it into rectangles, then let them rise for few minutes while you heat your frying oil.
- After the dough has risen, you’ll pop the beignets in the hot oil, a few at a time, until it’s puffed and golden on both sides, flipping half way through.
- When all of your beignets are fried, place some powdered sugar into a fine mesh strainer and generously dust the beignets with the powdered sugar. By “dust,” I’m talking light piles of powdered sugar, not some pansy smattering of powdered sugar. This is a messy operation.
- Eat them immediately while they’re hot!
Storing and Other Tips
- These are best eaten right away! You can still keep them around for a couple of days (or can you?) in an airtight container at room temperature. Just make sure they’re completely cooled before storing.
- Watch that oil temperature carefully! It’s really easy to let your oil get too hot which will result in the outside of your beignets getting overcooked while the middle remains raw. If it’s too low, they will soak up oil and become soggy. Use your candy thermometer and make sure you adjust the heat on your stove as needed to keep the heat steady.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours if needed. When ready to fry, roll out your dough and allow the beignets to rise for 45-60 minutes before frying.
You can also make them ahead of time and store for up to 24 hours before serving. Do not dust with powdered sugar until ready to serve and make sure they are completely cool before storing.
Pretty much, but they have a few specific qualities that set them apart. They are puffy and soft in texture, whereas a lot of doughnuts are a little more dense or chewy. Beignets are traditionally topped with powdered sugar only and doughnuts can have a much larger variety of glazes, icings, and fillings.
Watch your oil temperature carefully and adjust your heat as needed. If the oil cools too much the dough will absorb too much oil. If it gets too hot, they will brown too quickly and the inside won’t cook.
Beignets
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 tablespoons sugar divided
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 3 ½ – 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 scant tablespoon dry active yeast
- ½ cup warm water about 105℉
- 1 egg
- peanut oil for frying
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, vegetable oil, and salt. Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat.
- While the milk is heating, combine the yeast and remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar with the warm water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until it’s very bubbly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heated milk and 2 cups of flour. Mix, scraping the bowl occasionally, until smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and mix until well-combined. Add the yeast mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough that slightly sticks to your finger.
- At this point, you can either place the dough in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and cover with a piece of sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough up to 1 day or you can roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Either way, when you roll it out, roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick. Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into about 3″x4″ rectangles. Slightly separate the dough pieces and cover with a clean cloth. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- When the dough has about 15 minutes left to go, heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a large skillet or saucepan to 325℉ (just use a candy thermometer). When the oil is heated, fry the dough pieces for about 90 seconds-2 minutes per side or until they are golden. Carefully remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
- Place some powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and sprinkle the powdered sugar generously over the beignets. Serve immediately. Makes about 24-30 beignets.
Notes
- These are best eaten right away! You can still keep them around for a couple of days (or can you?) in an airtight container at room temperature. Just make sure they’re completely cooled before storing.
- Watch that oil temperature carefully! It’s really easy to let your oil get too hot which will result in the outside of your beignets getting overcooked while the middle remains raw. If it’s too low, they will soak up oil and become soggy. Use your candy thermometer and make sure you adjust the heat on your stove as needed to keep the heat steady.
Questions & Reviews
LOVE your new look!!! And I’m so going to make these this weekend. My hubby is dieting right now, but the weekends he takes a “free” day so I think these are just the things!! 🙂
Fairly new reader, but LOVE the new look of the site. It’s so much more appealing and professional. Nice work! I’ll be back often!
I love the new site, new cookbook, and this recipe. In my youth, I spent time in Louisiana and have missed beignets. Gonna have to get some peanut oil so I can make these puppies. Speaking of puppies, do you have a favorite hushpuppies recipe? I LOVE them and miss them immensely. You guys are wonderful and I’m giving a shout out to you guys and your new and improved website today.
To Funny! My mom is Pennsylvania dutch and has been making these for me since I was a kid, except we always called them Doe-Does. Now I make them for my family. Esp on fat tuesday
Love the new blog look and all the spiffy features!! Love, Love, Love it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I enjoyed beignets and iced coffee at Cafe du Monde in 2004 and have been trying to find a good beignet since. This should be a treat. Gorgeous new blog, enjoyed the last version but I’m really liking the new features now. Keep up the great work!
What a nice surprise to wake up to!! Your site looks awesome and the thing I’m most excited about is that I’m finally able to leave a comment!! For some reason my computer hated the old format. Congrats on everything!!
I’ve loved all your Louisana recipes-it’s so fun to explore regional culture through food! I was just wondering which one of you is going to move to a new area so we can embrace foods from other regions? 😉
Thanks for the great recipes!
I’ve already said the site looks FANTABULOUS on Facebook (’cause well, it seriously does!) but these little sweet treats look totally delish!
I am having fun re-introducing myself to your website/blog and with the ease of finding tips & tricks, recipes and all the different ways you have stuff sorted, it’s SO easy! I can’t wait to try these. They almost seem like a light and delicate donut pastry thing-a-ma-jig.
Not so low-calorie though for a diet…. hrrmmmppphhh… *pouts* Will have to make them for the family and try not to indulge!
These look delish… and how cute is the new design for your wesite!?! Love it!