Now you can have New Orleans-Style Beignets without leaving the comfort of your home! If you’ve never enjoyed these soft and pillowy fried doughnuts before, you’re in for a treat. Because this is the best beignet recipe!
Beignets
We’re heading to New Orleans for vacation today! And I’m SO ready for it. But before we head to the airport, I’m popping in so I can share these beignets with you. And while I can’t say they’re exactly as good as the ones they serve at Café du Monde (aka the best beignets in New Orleans), I can say they’re pretty darn close. So yeah, I guess you could say this is my copycat Cafe du Monde recipe!
They fry up crispy, chewy, and golden brown! Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm!
What is a Beignet?
To put it simply, beignets are square shaped pieces of dough that are deep fried and generously sprinkled with confectioners sugar. They’re best served hot and are best paired with a cup of coffee, or café au lait!
Ingredients:
- warm water, between 110 and 115 degrees (F)
- granulated sugar
- active dry yeast
- eggs, at room temperature
- evaporated milk
- vanilla extract
- bread flour
- salt
- unsalted butter, at room temperature
- peanut oil, for deep frying
- confectioners’ sugar
How to make Beignets:
- In a medium-size bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast. and Whisk well to combine and then sit it aside for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has bubbled up and become foamy.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg. Then add in the vanilla and evaporated milk.
- Beat in 3 and 1/2 cups of the flour. Then turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Add in the butter and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the remaining 3 and 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Beat until dough is smooth and cohesive; about 2 minutes.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with layers of paper towels.
- In a large enameled cast-iron pan, heat oil.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough out into a thick rectangle, then cut the dough into 2 and 1/2-inch squares.
- In batches, fry the dough until they puff up and are golden brown in color, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beignets to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve at once!
Tips and Tricks:
- First things first: you need a deep fry (aka candy thermometer) for this recipe. Because if your hot oil temperature is off, your fried dough will be too. This is the candy thermometer I use, and I love it. It’s less than 10 bucks and I’ve probably used it over a hundred times!
- To proof the yeast mixture, your water should be between 110 and 115 degrees (F). If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast cells, and if it’s too cold, the yeast will remain dormant and the dough won’t rise.
- Because beignets are best eaten hot, I highly suggest serving these as soon as possible! Once they’ve sat, they become soggy and unappealing.
- This recipe requires bread flour. Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has a tiny amount of barley flour and vitamin C added. The barley flour helps the yeast activate, and the vitamin C increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises.
- The dough does need to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours. The good news? It can be made up to 24 hours in advance!
- You should also know this recipe makes a TON of beignets, so I suggest having friends over to help you eat them all 😉
- Finally, don’t skip the confectioner’s sugar! Without it, the beignets are quite plain. To make “dressing” the beignets an easy affair, place them in a paper bag – a few at a time – with a generous amount of sugar and shake for a few seconds. Be sure to have paper towels nearby too… as there’s sure to be a little mess!
Serve these warm, with extra powdered sugar and strong coffee. And enjoy!
If you try this recipe for New Orleans-Style Beignets, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
Next try Lemon Beignets with Fresh Berries!
New Orleans-Style Beignets
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 3 dozen
Now you can have New Orleans-Style Beignets without leaving home!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, between 110 and 115 degrees (F)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 7 cups bread flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups peanut oil, for deep frying
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a medium-size bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast and whisk well to combine. Sit aside for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has bubbled up and become foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and evaporated milk. Beat in 3 and 1/2 cups of the flour until smooth. Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the yeast mixture (careful here - this mixture can splash up if added to quickly!); beat until smooth. Add in the butter and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the remaining 3 and 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Beat until dough is smooth and cohesive; about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels, set aside.
- In a large enameled cast-iron pan, heat 4-inches of oil to 360 degrees (F). Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 2 and 1/2-inch squares.
- In batches, fry the dough until they puff up and are golden brown in color, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beignets to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve at once!
Courses Dessert
Cuisine American
how many eggs are there. there is none in the recipe printed
Hi Brenda. Please see step 2 in the recipe 🙂
the recipe says 2 eggs
2 large eggs at room temperature
There are 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Yes! They are added in step 2 🙂
They aren’t listed in the list of ingredients …it’s a valid question of quantity
Hi Karen. The eggs are listed, the 4th ingredient in the list of ingredients.
Yum, New Orleans beignets look amazing. I would eat them everyday if I could. I would have to split my desserts between fried dough and frozen yogurt franchises. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I don’t think it’s possible to add too much sugar.
ahhhh beignets are why I want to go to NOLA so bad and I need need need to try this recipe!
can i use instant yeast with the same amount of active dry yeast?
Hey, love your Instagram feed.
I just wanted to know can peanut oil be replaced with groundnut or vegetable oil
The beignets are cooked in cotton oil ai Cafe du Monde! Only place I’ve found to purchase it is at Bass Pro Shops.
Can’t wait to try but can I freeze the dough? 3 dozens is a lot for me 🙂
I don’t understand why you would refrigerate the dough immediately after mixing it if you want the yeast to do its job.
Isn’t it best to proof dough draft free at room temperature ? Doesn’t refrigerating dough slow the rise? And I believe when you fry refrigerated dough immediately without bringing it to room temperature it makes the outer crust extra crispy, is this what you are aiming for here?
I’m
Just learning about baking science recently so I’m genuinely interested to hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance for your insight and feedback
It will rise in the refrig, just as well, but of course slowly. After you roll the dough out, I let it rest for a bit and they started to rise again. Puffed up perfectly in the oil. Make sure it stays at 360° throughout.
Awhile back I read an article about letting pizza dough rise in the fridge for up to 4 days! Thought that sounded odd, but after trying this recipe with good results, I would have to say it makes sense.
I’m curious to hear your reply to Todd as I have the same questions.
Thank you.
Approximately how many does the recipe yield?
I cut the recipe in half and used half of that and it made 10. I would say the full recipe would make 40! Still used a full packet of yeast for 1/2 recipe, and it turned out fine.
can you freeze this dough?
Can you freeze them or the dough
I don’t recommend it.
Can I use vegetable or sunflower oil?