This past February, in honor of the Super Bowl being hosted in Louisiana, I decided to bring a little bit of New Orleans magic into my kitchen—by making fresh, pillowy beignets! There’s nothing quite like these golden-fried pastries, dusted generously with powdered sugar and best enjoyed warm. Inspired by Nea Arentzen, I set out to recreate the iconic Café du Monde experience at home.
With a dough enriched with butter and eggs, these beignets fry up light, airy, and irresistibly soft.
Whether you're reliving any Louisiana festivities or just craving a sweet Southern treat, this beignet recipe is sure to transport you straight to the French Quarter!
I definitely recommend having this recipe as fresh as possible, so if you're making them fresh before serving that is best case scenario! That being said, I had a few leftover beignets and they were delicious dipped in hot coffee.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Whole Milk
2 ¼ tsp. Active Dry Yeast
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
6 tbs. Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Eggs, large
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
neutral oil, for frying
3-4 cups Powdered Sugar
paper lunch bags, for tossing in powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat milk in a small saucepan (or carefully microwave) until lukewarm, about 105 degrees F. Any warmer will kill the yeast.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a hook attachment, combine the yeast, milk, and sugar. Let it sit until slightly foamy on the surface, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, butter, eggs, and salt. Knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and you can successfully perform a stretch test, 15 to 20 minutes depending on your mixer.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot in your kitchen to proof until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Pat the dough out into a rough rectangle and sprinkle with a little flour. Roll the dough to a ½-inch thickness.
Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. The shapes won't matter but if you want perfect squares or rectangles cut the borders. You can honestly cut them however you like!
Divide them between two lightly floured baking sheets and cover with clean kitchen towels. Set aside for their second rise, another 30 minutes.
In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat 3 inches of neutral oil. While the oil is heating up, add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar to a brown paper bag.
Once the oil is hot enough, fry 4 to 5 beignets at a time until deep golden brown, flipping with a metal spider or tongs, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Transfer all 4 to 5 beignets directly from the oil to the brown paper bag with confectioners’ sugar, then close the bag tightly and shake well to coat. Transfer them to a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining beignets, adding more confectioners’ sugar and swapping out for a new paper bag as needed.
Serve immediately with coffee! They will keep on the counter for a day or two.
Heat milk in a small saucepan (or carefully microwave) until lukewarm, about 105 degrees F. Any warmer will kill the yeast.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a hook attachment, combine the yeast, milk, and sugar. Let it sit until slightly foamy on the surface, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, butter, eggs, and salt. Knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and you can successfully perform a stretch test, 15 to 20 minutes depending on your mixer.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot in your kitchen to proof until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Pat the dough out into a rough rectangle and sprinkle with a little flour. Roll the dough to a ½-inch thickness.
Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. The shapes won't matter but if you want perfect squares or rectangles cut the borders. You can honestly cut them however you like!
Divide them between two lightly floured baking sheets and cover with clean kitchen towels. Set aside for their second rise, another 30 minutes.
In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat 3 inches of neutral oil. While the oil is heating up, add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar to a brown paper bag.
Once the oil is hot enough, fry 4 to 5 beignets at a time until deep golden brown, flipping with a metal spider or tongs, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Transfer all 4 to 5 beignets directly from the oil to the brown paper bag with confectioners’ sugar, then close the bag tightly and shake well to coat. Transfer them to a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining beignets, adding more confectioners’ sugar and swapping out for a new paper bag as needed.
Serve immediately with coffee! They will keep on the counter for a day or two.
If you plan on saving this recipe for later via Pinterest, feel free to use this image!
Please tag me if you end up making this recipe, I would LOVE to see how it turns out!!
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