Homemade Beignets
You can enjoy a perfectly fried, fluffy, sweet beignet without fighting the crowds on Bourbon Street!
Servings: 20 beignets
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (178 ml) warm water not too hot
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup (118 ml) whole milk room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour possibly a little more
- 3 Tablespoons (42 g) salted butter melted
- 4 -8 cups (946 -1893 ml) vegetable oil for frying
- 2 cups (240 g) confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Pour the warm water into a medium size bowl. Whisk in the yeast and sugar and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes. It should become slightly foamy - or your yeast may be bad.¾ cup warm water, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- Whisk in eggs, milk, and vanilla.2 eggs, ½ cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Mix in ½ of the flour, then the melted butter, then the rest of the flour. Knead the mixture with your hands until the dough is smooth. If it is too sticky, you may want to add more flour, a Tablespoon at a time.4 cups all-purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave it undisturbed in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours).
- Roll out dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut into 2 ½ inch squares.
- Heat oil in a large pot to 370 °F (188 °C). You should have at least 2 inches of oil for the deep frying.4 -8 cups vegetable oil for frying
- Deep fry the beignets in batches, don’t crowd. They should pop up when you put them in the oil or the oil is not hot enough. Spoon the oil over the tops of the beignets as the bottoms are frying. Make sure to turn them over so they are golden (not brown) on both sides. It will only take 1-2 minutes per side.
- Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot.2 cups confectioners sugar
Notes
We used a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil. But basically you want it hot enough so that the beignets pop up as soon as you drop them in. They will get golden very quickly, make sure you turn them occasionally as they cook to get an even brown.
Also, we did some after the 2 hour rise, and some the next morning (after leaving the dough in the fridge overnight), and they all turned out pretty similar. We also did a batch where we put the dough into the fridge and let it proof overnight (instead of leaving it in a warm place for 2 hours) and again, pretty similar.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 beignet | Calories: 180 kcal | Carbohydrates: 35 g | Protein: 4 g | Fat: 3 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 21 mg | Sodium: 26 mg | Potassium: 55 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 15 g
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