Description
You are in for a treat with this classic New Orleans beignet recipe. Beignets are pillowy, deep fried dough, dusted with powdered sugar, and to die for!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup warm water (110℉)
- 1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Confectioners’ sugar (at least 1 cup)
- Additional 2 quarts of vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the eggs and 2 tablespoons of oil into yeast mixture.
- Â Add the flour, salt and stir together until well combined. The dough will be a bit sticky, that's ok.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap (sometimes lightly wetting the edge of the bowl helps the plastic wrap to stick on tightly). Refrigerate dough for about an hour, until it has nearly doubled in size.Â
- Prepare for frying the beignets by setting a wire rack into a rimmed baking sheet. Line a second baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels.
- Pour the 2 quarts of oil into a heavy bottomed Dutch oven or large skillet, it should fill the bottom of the pot 2-3 inches. Heat over medium to medium-high heat.
- Transfer dough onto a floured counter and cut in half. With one half of the dough, pat into a rectangular shape with floured hands, flipping to coat with flour. Roll dough out into ¼-inch-thick rectangle (about 12 by 9 inch).
- Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into twelve 3-inch squares.
- Repeat this process with the second piece of dough.
- When the oil is 350℉ (using a thermometer is the easiest way to gauge this), add a few beignets at a time (don't over crowd the pan). Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes total, flipping halfway through frying.
- Transfer beignets to the pan with the paper towels. Repeat with remaining dough.
- When they are cool enough to touch but still hot place them on the rack set inside the pan. Dust heavily with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm.
Notes
- Don't let a little frying scare you! It's so fun to know how to make things like this even if the cooking method might be new to you. A heavy bottomed pan, a thermometer, and a spider strainer (to get the food out of the hot oil) will make all the difference.
- Don't be stingy on the powdered sugar and consider serving them with a shaker of powdered sugar on the side so folks can add more as they like while eating. That's how they are served in New Orleans.Â
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: dessert
- Method: fry
- Cuisine: American
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