So many times, I’ll make a dish for you all that I really don’t want lying around the house after I taste it. So I call family or friends to come pick it up. This is definitely one of those recipes.
Bill and Dave were packing up their share of the Fat Tuesday booty after I made the call, which prompted a political debate, which prompted Coleen and me to hide in the living room so as not to hear said debate.
I will forever now associate beignets with politics, which is a good thing for me. I don’t need the calories.
I made two batches because I’ve never made these before - one as listed below, and one with the Cafe du Monde Beignet Mix. Both good, the mix was definitely easier, but homemade was better - much fluffier. No surprise there, I suppose. I don’t care what Jon Favreau says.*
INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (105° to 110°)
2 teaspoons active yeast
1/3 cup of sugar + 1 tablespoon
2/3 cup whole milk
1 large egg + 1 yolk
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 1/3 cups All Purpose Flour
Vegetable oil for frying
Confectioners’ sugar
METHOD
Add the warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a standing mixer bowl and whisk until combined. Let sit for 7-10 minutes until it forms a raft on top.
Next, pour in the remaining sugar, milk, eggs and melted butter and whisk until combined.
Attach the bowl to the stand mixer with the hook attachment and add the salt and flour. Mix on medium speed until smooth and the dough has pulled away from the inside of the bowl, about 2-3 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel and let sit at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a large clean surface dusted with flour and roll out until it is ½” to ¾” thick and cut into 1 ½” to 2” squares or rectangles.
Add 5-6 of the beignets to a pot with hot oil or a deep fryer set to 350° and cook for 1 1 1/2-2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Be very careful to keep an eye always on the oil temperature. As soon as it goes a little too high, it will brown too quickly on the outside and not completely cook on the inside.
Cook in batches until the beignets have all been fried and set on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper or paper towels and drain.
Coat heavily in powdered sugar and serve.
*I’ve mentioned before that I love Jon Favreau and his movie, Chef. Well, he has a “cooking with his buddies” show on Netflix now that I love to watch. It’s called “The Chef Show, on which he declares the box mix here to be best.
If I were one of the conspiracy theorists in town, I’d be screaming, “He must be making money off of that!”