Beignets

Well, so many of you asked for my beignet recipe that I decided to post it!

For those of you who do not know what a beignet is, it is basically a french doughnut. It is also the single most effective way to have powdered sugar ALL over you!

Here is a pic of these yummy confections!

Beignets

1 cup warm milk

(heat in the microwave for about a minute)

1 pkg. dry active yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp salt

3 cups of flour

In a bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast, & sugar and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Place the yeast mixture into your electric mixer bowl and add the eggs, mixing well. Then add the melted butter.

In a bowl, mix the flour and salt then add to the mixer bowl. Using the dough hook, mix until a dough ball forms. You may need to add a little more flour as you go because you want the dough soft but not wet.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit for about 40 minutes in a warm place so the dough can rise.

40 minutes later, remove towel and place dough on lightly floured surface. Punch down the dough and let sit for 15 minutes, covered.

(To those of you who do not know what Punch down the dough mean, seriously...think about it. Its pretty self-explanatory really! Just punch the dough!)

Now you want to GENTLY roll out your dough into a rectangle, about 1/4 of an inch thick. (I have to cut my dough in half due to the fact that I have no counter top space so if you need to make 2 batches, you can just work quick and you should be fine!)

Cut your dough into 3 to 4 inch square-ish pieces and deep fry in shortening for about 2 minutes tops. Look for that golden brown color and flip them to get both sides done. Remove and place on a paper towel lined pan.  

(I recommend shortening over oil because it just seems to make the beignets crispier!)

As soon as you get them on the pan, sprinkle a heavy layer of powdered sugar on top!