Beignets
Pillowy soft Lousiana-style beignets are fried fresh and dusted with powdered sugar. These are a classic New Orleans treat, perfect for Mardi Gras or any sweet craving!
Servings 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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1beignet (1/30th of recipe), Calories: 151kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 83mg, Potassium: 30mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 21IU, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 151kcal
Cost: $10
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