See Also: Breads · Breakfast and Brunch · Desserts
Beignets ("ben-yays")
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. A New Orleans French Quarter specialty with cafe au lait, or just to eat whenever!
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 egg
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
oil for deep frying (peanut, corn, safflower, grapeseed, etc.)
powdered sugar for dusting
Microwave milk 30-40 seconds to warm, 100-110 degrees. Combine warm milk, butter or oil, and sugar in large bowl, blend completely. Add yeast to dissolve, and then whisk in the egg. In another bowl whisk the flour, nutmeg and salt to blend thoroughly. Add about half of the flour mixture to the milk mixture, blend thoroughly to make a smooth batter, adding the rest of the flour, stirring until smooth. Cover and set in a warm draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until mixture has doubled in size. Dump out onto floured board or counter and knead gently and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife or dough docker, cut into square or diamond shapes. Cover with towel and let stand for about 30-45 minutes. When ready, heat oil in deep fat fryer or deep pan until 375-385 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with paper towels for draining the beignets as they finish cooking. To fry them, gently place 2-3 in fryer and cook until a nice golden brown, turn, and cook on second side, turning only once. With a slotted spoon, remove to paper towel lined pan to drain. Dust with powdered sugar.
Recipe created 2010-05-10.
