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French Quarter Beignets

Source of Recipe

From "Kevin Belton's Big Flavors of New Orleans"


Recipe Introduction

"The iconic fried donut à la New Orleans. It was wonderful as a child being handed the powdered sugar and given the go-ahead to sprinkle the sugar without any limits. Oh man, heaven."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup warm water
â—¦ ¾ cup sugar, divided
â—¦ ¼ ounce (1 package) active dry yeast
â—¦ 2 large eggs, beaten slightly
â—¦ 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
â—¦ 1 cup evaporated milk
â—¦ 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
â—¦ ¼ cup shortening
â—¦ 2 cups powdered sugar


Recipe

Combine water, ¼ cup sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let set for 10 minutes. You can start this in your stand mixer, if you have one, or use a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add salt, milk, and remaining sugar. Add the egg mixture to the yeast starter. Add 3 cups flour and combine thoroughly. Cut in the shortening and continue to mix. Add remaining flour and mix to form a large dough ball.

Flour your work surface and knead the dough until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough into a large bowl, cover, and place in a warm place to rise, about 2 hours.

When ready to fry, heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough ¼ inch thick and cut 2-inch squares. Fry to a golden brown, turning continuously. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot with extra powdered sugar, of course!

Serves 4 to 6


• You can make this dough ahead of time, let it rise, and then refrigerate. It holds great for two or three days wrapped in plastic wrap. You can freeze it, too. Quarter the dough and wrap each section. Just remove, thaw, and fry.