Bite-Size Beignets

Beignets are such a quintessential New Orleans treat that I’m fairly certain there’s a law against visiting the city and not making at least a brief stop at Café du Monde.

And yes, I am aware that you can find a beignet at many other places, but after having tried a few different joints I’m firmly in the Café du Monde cheering section. Whatever it is they do to those crunchy, fluffy, powdered-sugar-bombs is addicting. Add their famous café au lait and if I ever stayed in N’awlins for more than a day at a time you’d have to roll me out of the French Quarter.

In an effort of mercy for my bathroom scale I’ve reduced the size of the beignets for this recipe – though that might have been a bad idea at the rate I was popping these babies in my mouth all morning. Their small size makes them manageable to fry in a small dutch oven and greatly reduces the cooking time. Although the “proper” method of cooking a traditional beignet requires frying them in cottonseed oil – that’s a wee bit difficult to find north of the Mason-Dixie line. Use peanut oil instead, there’s a reason it’s the gold standard for deep frying and it works wonderfully for frying these bite-sized beauties.

Instead of a quick rise on the counter at room temperature, this dough rises in the fridge overnight. I could tell you that it’s modeled after the artisan-bread method of cold rises for a more delicate crumb, but it’s really because I find it inconvenient to make a dough, wait a few hours for it rise, and then fry – it’s an all day affair. I’d much rather make the dough the day or night before, throw it in the fridge and fry it the next day. Laziness triumphs – an ethos I find even more appropriate for doughnut consumption.

Jackson Square, New OrleansAlthough I don’t necessarily advocate the ½ pound of powdered sugar that always seems to appear in the bottom of a Café du Monde beignet bag – don’t skimp. The powdered sugar is the crowning glory of a beignet – plus it’s pretty easy to tell who snitched the last one when they’ve got sugary white streaks emblazoned across their chest.

Bite-Size Beignets

1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast

¾ cup water (110 degrees)

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup evaporate milk

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoon melted butter

Peanut oil for frying

Powdered sugar

In a stand mixer with a dough hook combine the yeast, water and sugar. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes (we’re not proofing the yeast, just letting it dissolve a little bit). Add remaining ingredients and let mix until thoroughly combined and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Place in a greased bowl covered with saran wrap and chill overnight – between 8-24 hours. Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temp for 1 hour. Roll out to ½ inch thickness and cut into bite size pieces – about 1 inch square. Fry in 350 degree peanut oil until deep golden brown, about 3 minutes total. Remove to a paper towel covered rack and let rest for 1 minute, toss in powdered sugar to coat. Serve immediately, with chicory coffee or café au lait if possible.