Beignets New Orleans
New Orleans Beignets – These New Orleans doughnuts popular at Cafe du Monde are soft, pillowy, and light, made with love in your kitchen. 💕 Forget regular doughnuts because these are easy and satisfying.
I grew up eating mandazi and puff puff, popular traditional West African deep-fried dough I adore. So when, during my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I tried a heavenly bite of a New Orleans beignet. Since then, Café du Monde’s beignets (and beignets in general) have had a special place in my heart.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is a New Orleans Beignet?
Beignets are sweet treats covered in powdered sugar that are somewhere between a donut and a fritter. Dubbed Louisiana’s state doughnut, the delicious yeast dough, fried and dusted with powdered sugar, is absolutely divine.
How to Make Beignets New-Orleans Style
Prepare the Dough
- Activate Yeast – In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine lukewarm water and yeast. Let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes or until it dissolves and looks frothy. (Photos 1-2)
- Liquids – Lightly whisk evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in about 2 cups flour and continue mixing with a hand or dough mixer. If using a stand mixer, mix for about 1-2 minutes. (Photo 3)
- Butter – Finally, mix in the melted butter until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add in additional flour (if needed) to make a soft dough. (Photo 4)
- Knead – Turn the beignet dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes.
- Rise – Place the beignet dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat it. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. (Photos 5-6)
Make the Beignets
- Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about ¼-⅓” thick. (Photo 7)
- Form – Cut the dough into 1½-2″ squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. (Photo 8)
- Rest – Let rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
- Patience – Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, fry the dough squares until puffy and golden brown. (Photos 9-10)
- Drain – Remove them from the oil, making a pit stop on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.
- Dust with powdered sugar immediately.
- Serve warm with a steaming cup of café au lait, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook, absorbing too much oil. Any hotter and the outside can burn before the inside is cooked through.
- When mixing the yeast and water, keep in mind that the water should be somewhere between 110℉-115℉ (43-46℃). Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast may not activate.
- Beignets taste best fresh, and this recipe makes for about 35-40 2-inch beignets, so invite some friends over and share this delicacy along with some strong coffee and good conversation. 😉
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
If you make your beignet dough ahead of time (up to three days), you can keep it in the fridge and fry them when you are ready. Just make sure your dough comes back to room temperature for about 30 minutes before frying.
Store fried beignets in an airtight container on your countertop at room temperature for 2-3 days, or freeze them for 3-4 months. Reheat by popping them in the microwave for 10 seconds. If you’ve got a few extra seconds, try reheating them in your countertop convection oven to get that crispy outer layer back.
What Goes With New Orleans Beignets
I like to follow up a spicy meal, like African spicy oxtail stew or asun, with beignets because they round out the meal.
Definitely serve beignets with a hot drink. Besides coffee with milk (cafe au lait), I love chai tea latte. Usually, I dial back my coffee’s sugar to balance the pastry’s sweetness.
More Amazing Pastry Recipes to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”f6rrNboF” upload-date=”2019-09-18T07:55:46.000Z” name=”New Orleans Beignets” description=” Beignets – These New Orleans doughnuts are the best! Soft, pillowy and light just like the ones eat at Cafe du Monde but taste even better! You can’t beat Homemade.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
This blog post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Beignets (New Orleans)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm water
- 1 .25-ounce packet (7g) active dry yeast
- ½ cup (12ml) evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup (66g) sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 3¾-4 cups (470-500g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (42g) butter, melted
- corn oil for frying (or any neutral-flavored oil)
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine lukewarm water and yeast. Let the mixture do its job for about 5 minutes or until it's dissolved and looks a little frothy.
- Lightly whisk evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in about 2 cups flour and continue mixing with a hand or dough mixer. If using a stand mixer, mix for 1-2 minutes.
- Finally, add melted butter and mix until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add additional flour as needed to make a soft dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. Place the beignet dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat it. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until ¼-⅓ inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 1½-2-inch squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
- Working in batches so as not to crowd the oil, fry the dough squares until puffy and golden brown.
- Remove them from the oil, making a pit stop on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.
- Dust with powdered sugar immediately. Serve hot with café au lait, and enjoy!!!
Tips & Notes:
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook, absorbing too much oil. Any hotter and the outside can burn before the inside is cooked through.
- When mixing the yeast and water, keep in mind that the water should be somewhere between 110℉-115℉ (43-46℃). Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast may not activate.
- You can make the dough the day before and fry them in the morning. Just let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
- Regular milk is fine if you wish to substitute the evaporated milk.
- Corn oil or any neutral-flavored high-smoke-point oil is excellent for frying.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in the recipe.
Came out perfect! Enjoyed with a cup of cafe au lait…..the recipe was easy… tasted better than Cafe du Monde… lol
Great! Thanks
Do you think peanut oil would be okay? Only because we have our frier filled with that at the moment. Can’t wait to try these!
Yes it would work out just fine . Enjoy!
These came out so delicious. Your recipe was very easy to follow. My whole family enjoyed them. Will definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
OK, so I first tried a different beignet recipe and for some reason the dough didn’t come together right. I found your recipe and gave it another try. I’ve never made beignets or any type of doughnut before. In any case, OMG, they were delicious. I knew immediately as I was mixing the dough that they would be yummy. My son-in-law had been asking me to make them and this was a special treat for him and the rest of the family. They all loved them. There was a slight crunch to the crust and the crumb was moist and delicious. We will definitely be making this again!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Could I replace APF with Self rising flour, and if can does that mean I take out the yeast?
Yes you can do that . But it will definitely affect the Taste and structure .
Hope this helps!
can I replace apf with bread flour? will it make it softer?
Yes you can . However, it really would not make it tender. Let it proof until double in size.
These are fantastic!!! Or, as my husband and I exclaimed with powdered sugar covering our lips, “These are freaking amazing!” We went to Cafe du Monde a few years ago and had beignets for the first time, and ever since then I’ve wanted to try making them but was always intimidated. Your recipe was super easy to follow, and my husband said I HAVE to make these again. Thanks for a great recipe!
So happy I could be of help. Thanks for the feedback!
Can I use an air fryer to cook these?
Hi, Lala. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
Really easy to follow. I didn’t have the stand mixer, so everything was by hand. Wasn’t too bad. If I make the batch the day before, how do I store it? Do I still let the dough rise to double size then put it in the fridge?
Hi, Tea. You can cut the dough a day ahead, cover, and place them in the fridge. And then fry them the next day. Just make sure to let the dough rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
There may not actually be 5000 recipes for beignets online but when you want to make them and you start looking it sure feels like there are. Ultimately I chose this recipe because I wanted to try making them with evaporated milk and vanilla and this one has both plus the great reviews. They were wonderful! After the first couple of regular size batches it occurred to me that I could shrink them to bite-sized just because it would make them a little less messy and a lot easier to eat. I’m so glad I did! From now on I think I’ll always go the bite-sized route. That’s the main reason I’m taking the time to leave a comment with my review- it’s definitely worth trying a batch that way at least once.
Hi, Leisl. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. I totally like your bite-sized version of this. Glad you enjoyed them.
Any suggestions for my dough? It’s more like thick pancake batters. I added all cups of flowers and it never turns into dough no matter how much i knead it.
I is supposed to be nothing more than a thick batter as you described… I simply scrape mine out onto a substantial bed of flour… then dust the top and pat out by hand…. cut and move to they fryer.. If you want to get a feel for the just what your dough should look like and work search the following title on YouTube “Café du Monde’s Beignet | Legendary Eats”
So happy I stumbled on your recipe. This was my first attempt and they turned out great! Thanks to your easy to follow directions.
Can I put these in the oven instead of frying them?
Yes you can. However, there would be a difference in taste and texture. Do let me know how it works out for you.
Hi! I am a 21 year old baker enthusiast, and I have been craving beignets forEVER! I live in Ontario Canada, so unfortunetly, no beignets in cafes, grocery stores, or restaurants for me here; trust me, I tried researching and shopping around for some. No luck! Anyways, I decided to make my own, and I stumbled across your recipe that looks so delicious and fairly easy to make. However, I do have a few questions regarding the recipe just so I can get the most out of the beignets for when I make them.
1. Do you use salted or non-salted butter? I am fairly sure non-salted is preferred, but I wanna make sure.
2. I see you use a large iron pan for frying the beignets; how much oil do you use or recommend for the frying?
3. I want my mother to try the beignets too but she is lactose and tolerant. Can I use lactose-free milk instead of evaporated? Or is lactose-free evaporated milk a thing?
I think that’s all. Thank you for sharing this recipe and I look forward to hearing from you, Cheers!
Hi Rochelle,
Glad you are ready to give this a try.
1. You are right use unsalted butter
2. Make sure you fill your ring pan at least half full, for best results
3. Lactose free milk would do just fine.
Hope this helps and Happy Cooking!
i realised when i finished making it into a dough i forgot to add butter and then i tried to mix it together will that affect the beignets?
It’s quite a challenge to add butter to the beignet after it has been mixed.