It’s so cliche, but the best thing we ate in New Orleans was the beignets. I’d never had one before, and I was delighted to discover that they were even better than I’d expected. Cafe du Monde’s are wonderfully crispy; cavernous and uneven in the best way.
The nooks and crannies, whether intentional or not, grant them the power to hold on to more powdered sugar than you’d think possible. After returning home, S and I missed the early morning (and late night) treats we’d become accustomed to during our stay.
Naturally, I had to try making them myself – if only to have one last taste of the Quarter.
Beignets
Ingredients
- ¾ c water, about 110F
- ¼ c sugar
- 1¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg, slightly beaten and at room temp
- ½ c whole milk, room temp
- 3½ c bread flour
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp butter, room temp
- Oil, for deep-frying
- 1½ c confectioners’ sugar
Directions
- Pour the water into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Stir in the sugar, then sprinkle over the yeast. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes until foamy and fragrant.
- While you wait, oil a large bowl for the dough to rise in.
- After ten minutes has passed, stir together the egg and the milk in a small bowl. Pour into your stand mixer and stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, measure out the bread flour. Add about half of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. Add the softened butter and continue to stir.
- After you no longer see streaks in the dough, switch to the dough hook and slowly add in the remaining flour. Let the mixer run on low speed for approximately 7 minutes to knead the dough.
- Remove dough from the bowl, and roll into a tight ball. Place into the oiled bowl, and roll the dough to coat with fat. Press plastic wrap tightly over the surface, and place in the fridge to rise overnight.
- In the morning, turn the dough out onto your floured counter, and roll to about ¼ thickness. Cut into squares approximately 2″ x 2″. Cover loosely with a clean dish towel.
- Pour oil into a large, heavy pot fitted with a candy thermometer. It is important that you fill the pot no higher than halfway up. Begin to heat to 375F, keeping a very close eye on the pot. Do not leave your kitchen for the remainder of this process.
- As you wait, line a sheet pan with paper towels, newspaper, or paper bags. Place a cooling rack upside down over top to allow oil to seep out of the fried beignets.
- Place the confectioners’ sugar in a paper bag and set aside (I sprinkled it over the top which led to an uneven coating).
- After the dough has come to temp, begin frying the beignets in small batches, maybe 4-5 at a time, and turn constantly until they are a nice, even brown color. This won’t take long. Remove from the oil and allow to cool for a few seconds on the prepared cooling rack, flipping once. While still hot, drop into the bag of powdered sugar and shake to coat.
- Eat them while they’re still warm!
Holy smokes, I simply NEED to make this ASAP!
Aw, haha – thank you, Katrina! You should try them – they’re yummy 😀
These sound amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had beignets but I am dying to try some now. Maybe I should wait til my first trip to NOLA too? 😉 The recipe is kind of intimidating to me because I’ve never baked with yeast or really made bread dough before. And I don’t have a hook attachment… eek.
On another note, I love the new site layout!
Don’t wait! Just make sure you pick some up while you’re there too 🙂
I promise that baking with yeast isn’t as scary as it sounds! And this dough can definitely be kneaded by hand – I’m just lazy 😉
So glad you like the new design. It was so fun and rewarding putting it all together!
Wow! These look so good.
Watched The Princess and the Frog with my kids yesterday and was going to look up a recipe for these. No need to now 🙂
That movie made me want to try beignets SO BAD! I loved how they animated them – they looked so fluffy and delicious ❤
Oooh I LOVE your new website layout!! It’s so pretty. And I also love your approach to travel–I need to figure out how to do that and take a trip ASAP. I totally hear you on the dirtiness of NOLA–it is really sad how people just trample the city and leave a dirty wake. But sooo happy these gorgeous beignets came out of your trip–yum!
Thank you thank you thank you! And yes – easiest and most joyful way to go about it all – I swear 😀
These look so good! I will definitely be making some in the near future. I love you new site by the way, it’s absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you so much!! I’d love to know what you think 🙂
Kaitlyn, thank you for this recipe. Beignets are so amazing and to die for. I’ve visited NOLA twice in a few years, pre and post Katrina, and have a dear friend who lives there. I will say that I agree with you about Bourbon street. It’s stinky, dirty, and not the best representation of New Orleans. I LOVE New Orleans and everything beautiful, ugly, flavourful, and unique about the city. I always want to go back but now when I do I choose not to do the touristy things because they seem to disappoint. Go back and let the locals give you the places to REALLY see or try. They know their city the best. : )
Your beignets look too good to not try this recipe myself — hopefully mine turn out like yours! Also, awesome website!
Thank you so much, Cynthia!!
Can this be done in a bread machine up til rolling out and cutting to bake?
I’ve never actually used a bread machine, so I’m not actually sure 🙁 I imagine that would be ok though because all it does is mix it and give it somewhere to rise, right? Sorry I can’t be of more help!