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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 Recipe
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?
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!
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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 ♥
More Beignet Recipes:
New Orleans-Style Beignets
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!
After cutting the 2 1/2″ squares, but before frying, can the squares be wrapped and frozen, so just a few at a time could be made at a future time?
Please tell what the measurements are for the 1/4″ rectangle. Either exact or approximate will work. Thank you!
I would love to know this, too! This recipe probably would’ve been fine, as is, when my five kids lived at home, but now that my husband and I are empty-nesters, 3 dozen pastries are way too many to consume at a time! I realize that I could halve the recipe, but that would still be quite a few beignets. Can the dough be frozen?
Great easy recipes! I added a little dribble of honey after I dusted them with powdered sugar..so good. Next time I’m going to DD a little lavender to get he honey.
Hi, I’ve been making this recipe for many years and love it so much! However, my 21-month old is allergic to eggs. Do you know what I can do to substitute eggs in this recipe?
Your recipe runs circles around the pre-mix I’ve been making from Cafe du Monde for years. Thank you!!!
We just got back from New Orleans and these are authentic and delicious. They bring back great memories. 🙂
What’s a good alternative to peanut oil? I have allergies.
Looks good!
They are better in my opinion and i ate beignets on weekly basis when i lived in in New Orleans. If you like a little morebtaste add a teaspoon of dried or the the peel of one fresh lemon or orange. I the south we love apple butter, so you can also try reducing the powder sugar to a vwry rhin layer and just dip them in apple butter, it tastes amazing.
Thank you so much for letting me know, Sage!
That sounds soooo damn good sis definitely going to try it
Thistle sounds like a great idea! Can’t wait to make them ️
Ashley, your New Orleans-Style Beignet recipe looks absolutely divine! I’ve always been a fan of beignets, especially after visiting New Orleans a few years ago. The soft, pillowy texture combined with the sweet powdered sugar is a match made in heaven. I can’t wait to try out your recipe and bring a little bit of that NOLA magic into my kitchen. On a side note, I’m working on a research paper about the cultural significance of various desserts around the world. I’ve been thinking of using a specific website to help with the research and writing process. Have you ever used online platforms for research or content creation related to your baking? Any recommendations or thoughts?