So first of all, if you’re seeing this post, that means that you’re also able to see our new blog design! If you’re using a reader, hop on over to www.ourbestbites.com to check out our shiny new look! For all of you who have cursed us in weeks/months/years gone by about our sucktacular recipe index, you can find any recipe in just a few clicks. We have to give a huuuuuuuuge shout-out to Susie at Zee Studio for her amazing work on our new look!
So you guys, I think I might have forgotten how to write a blog post. To say it’s been a crazy couple of weeks would be a major understatement. Thank you so much for your patience while we worked on this as well as some other massive behind-the-scenes projects (*cough* 2012 calendar with all brand-new recipes *cough cough*)! Believe it or not, our trip to Utah this week for the book launch will be a welcome break!
Before I moved to Louisiana, I had no idea how big of a deal Mardi Gras is here. Um, yeah, my kids are out of school. My friend Becky in New Orleans has a kid who’s out for 10 days. 10. During the last few years, I’ve really come to love Mardi Gras (lots of fun, very little work on my part–totally my kind of holiday!), so the kids and I were pretty bummed when our parade got rained out on Saturday. To make up for it, we watched The Princess and the Frog, made beignets (pronounced ben-yays, JUST in case you might be wondering), and I stopped just short of throwing beads and plastic cups at my kids and my cat.
I love this recipe because these babies are not just super, super delicious, but they are so easy, the dough can be made the night before and refrigerated, and they only require one short rise. For the dough, you’ll need flour, salt, sugar, cooking oil, yeast, an egg, and milk. Yeah, the egg didn’t make it into the picture–wanna fight?
In a small saucepan, you want to heat the milk, sugar, salt, and oil until small bubbles form around the edges. Remove the pan from heat.
While the milk is heating, place the yeast in some warm water with some sugar and let it stand for about 10 minutes until it’s bubbly.
When the milk has heated, add it to some flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix, scraping often, until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg and mix until well-combined. Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Then you want to add enough flour to make a soft dough that slightly sticks to your finger.
At this point, you can do one of two things. Option A is to spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl, then spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and place it over the bowl, then refrigerate the dough until you’re ready to use it (up to a day). The other option is to turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (I use my giant wood cutting board)…
then roll the dough into a large rectangle that’s about 1/4″ thick. Using a pizza wheel or a small, sharp knife, cut the dough into rectangles that are about 3″x4″. Totally approximate. We’re talking fried pieces of sweet carbs here dusted in powdered sugar; there are bigger forces at play here than exact size!
Separate the pieces a little and then cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
When the dough has been rising for about 15 minutes, heat 2-3 inches of oil in a large skillet or saucepan to 325 degrees (use a candy thermometer) over medium-low heat. It should take about 15 minutes to reach 325. As far as the oil goes, I really recommend peanut oil for frying pastries because it has a high smoke point and is almost flavorless–while canola oil is great because it has a high smoke point and it’s good for your heart (um, am I talking about heart health in a post about deep-fried treats?), it can take on kind of a fishy taste, especially at high temperatures. So unless allergies are a factor, peanut oil is the best way to go.
When the oil is hot, carefully place a few pieces of dough in the hot oil and fry for about 90 seconds-2 minutes on the first side, or until it puffs up and the bottom side is golden. Flip the dough pieces and fry another 90 seconds or until the other side is golden. Carefully remove from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Place some powdered sugar into a fine mesh strainer and generously dust the beignets with the powdered sugar. By “dust,” I’m talking light piles of powdered sugar, not some pansy smattering of powdered sugar. This is a messy operation.
Eat ’em immediately while they’re hot.
Although hey’re still pretty irresistable when they’re not hot…not that I’d know from any kind of firsthand experience! 🙂
Beignets 1 c. whole milk In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 c. sugar, vegetable oil, and salt. Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat. While the milk is heating, combine the yeast and 1 Tbsp. of sugar with 1/2 c. water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until it’s very bubbly. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heated milk and 2 c. flour. Mix, scraping the bowl occasionally, until smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and mix until well-combined. Add the yeast mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough that slightly sticks to your finger. At this point, you can either place the dough in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and cover with a piece of sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough up to 1 day or you can roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Either way, when you roll it out, roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick. Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into about 3″x4″ rectangles. Slightly separate the dough pieces and cover with a clean cloth. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. When the dough has about 15 minutes left to go, heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a large skillet or saucepan to 325 degrees (just use a candy thermometer). When the oil is heated, fry the dough pieces for about 90 seconds-2 minutes per side or until they are golden. Carefully remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Place some powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and sprinkle the powdered sugar generously over the beignets. Serve immediately. Makes about 24-30 beignets.
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. table salt
3 1/2-4 c. all-purpose flour
1 scant tablespoon dry active yeast
1/2 c. warm (about 105 degrees) water
1 egg
Peanut oil for frying
Questions & Reviews
Love the new site! I got sucked into this post immediately and so now I will go back and explore it a bit more!
Due to being overly busy I had just decided it was ok to let go of the idea of celebrating Mardi Gras this year. Now you show me this fantastic looking recipe and I’m jumping right on it! Thanks! (said sarcastically and absolutely truly meant). 😉
Rebecca@RootsAndWingsCo
I don’t do change well but I LOVE the new blog look! Also wanted to let you know that I was checking out other cooking blogsites this weekend and yours is by far the best! And I’m not just saying that to get a free cookbook….I love mine and use it all the time! And a calendar….can’t wait until next year! You both are aweseome! I’m hoping to make it to the Bountiful book signing! Thanks for all your hard work!
I Love your new look! It’s very well designed and chic!!! This recipe makes me want to watch Princess and the Frog! lol! I’ve never tried these, thanks for the recipe!
Love the new site. And thanks for this recipe. Ever since I visited New Orleans a few years ago I have been looking for a good Beignets recipe!
These look fabulous! And so does your new look! I only wish the 1st post picture was bigger though. I loved coming here and boom! seeing the finished recipe right off. But, that’s just my humble opinion… Thanks gals!
so cute and I love the new print feature!!
ooh and I love the little pictures next to the recipes in the index, that is so helpful!
Love the new look! I am a newbie to the blog, but I have already tried a few things and I am super impressed! Good luck with all of the new crazy and exciting things happening in your lives! Thanks for getting me back in the kitchen!
Love the new design! Looks wonderful! I also love the picture of you at the end of the post-beautiful! Congrats on all your success, ladies!
LOVE the new site & this recipe looks heavenly! Better make it tomorrow before Ash Wednesday! 🙂
Love the new look.
I am so excited to try these – Thank you!! We just finished watching The Princess & The Frog last week and I actually dreamed about these – thats how bad I have wanted to try them. LOL!
Thanks again.
Love the new site!! Looks so bright and fun!!
As for the beignets…YUM!! I had some at a brunch place this weekend…they serve them with lemon curd and whipped cream!! Amazing. For serious.
Lemon curd?? YUM! This is a great idea for that little jar I’ve been hoarding for a while, thanks!
Its a very big deal over here in Belgium as well. They have shut the school down for a week. Alot of people take the opportunity to go ski but there are a ton of festivals and Carnivals for Fat Tuesday and all that crap before lent lol! We don’t celebrate lent (southern baptist here) but it is fun to go watch people jabber in French and act like fools =D We are American military so its just different. I may try these pretty soon though.
Ashley,
(sorry for butting in here gals but I just had to “talk” to Ashley!!)
We are a military family in Indiana but my mom lives in Louisiana (southern baptists) so they are in the same situation as you. but I must say I love me some beignets. We had them oddly enough in Europe as well when we were stationed there when I was a kid…. Belgium, huh? Wow!! 🙂
Go ahead and chat, ladies! That’s one of the features we love about WordPress and the way comments work! 🙂
Yum! My first time having beignets was at the Cafe de Monde in New Orleans. They were great. I know that it is very traditional to order them with hot chocolate (and so I did and it was very worth my while). I have relatives in LA but haven’t actually been there during mardi gras. Sorry about the parade! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Wow, I LOVE the new look! The recipe index is spectacular 🙂 I got my cookbook in the mail last week and I have a whole new lineup of dinners to make this week! Can’t wait! Thanks so much!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new look!! It’s so much easier to find previous posts!!
Okay, quick question… and I guess you can’t go into too many details… but…
When you say 2012 CALENDAR… do you mean you’re actually making a calendar (like… to hang on your wall?)
The reason I ask, is because currently, there’s only one calendar I buy… and it’s from FlyLady. I can hang it on my wall, and it has HUGE squares so I can fit everything on it in my busy life, and I can see it from across the room. (I don’t work for FlyLady, but you could go to their website if you wanted to see what I was talking about
So… if you’re going to be selling a calendar, will you please make the squares huge? Because I’d love to buy your calendar, but I need fat and chunky squares!!! (Maybe make an XXL version of it? :))
If you’re not selling calendars… then just forget what I said and keep working on your awesome recipes. 🙂
Ailene–We’re working with our publisher (Deseret Book) on the calendar and they’re handling all the layout and everything. We’re just providing the recipes and pictures, but we can definitely pass along the message that people are interested in big squares! 🙂
Yes. Big squares. BIG GIANT squares. HAHA. But I’m so dang excited for that calendar.
Thanks Kate!
YUM! Just had my first beignets at Disneyland a few weeks ago (Mickey shaped ones!) and have been craving them ever since! I’m scared about frying things, but this might be a good place to start.
Awesome new site design!
Ummm…can’t wait to make these! Ever since we took the kids to see Disney’s The Princess and the Frog I have been wanting to make them! I found one recipe and it was way too doughy so yay for Kate! I can feel my hips expanding just thinking about making these suckers! Love the new website too!
Love the new look, it’s so crisp and clean! You always post the most amazing stuff, thanks!
I love it! So happy you expanded the pretty color scheme! The sunny, tropical feeling definitely matches the giddy feeling we get when a new post pops up!
What do you girls like to deep fry in? I feel a little more comfortable knowing what temperature to fry at and approximately how long it takes to get there but it still makes me NERVOUS! I’m considering my Dutch oven pan but am very fond of it!
Brianne, deep frying can be scary at first, but seriously, if you babysit it and use a candy thermometer, you’ll be totally fine. 325 isn’t hot enough to burn peanut or canola oil, or even to make it splatter. Dutch ovens are perfect for frying–my dad would always make fried scones in his on the 4th of July. You can also use any heavy-duty stock pot or skillet. You’ll do GREAT! 🙂
I looooooove the new look!!
I Love the new site! My daughter has been after me to make beignets since watching the Princess and the Frog. So today, I shall attempt! Thanks for making her little girl dreams come true!
Love the new look! Have loved your blog for a LONG time! Just got your cookbook & it’s awesome! Keep the great recipes coming!
I love you new look!! And the recipes are great. I can’t wait to try these!!
A) the new website is amazing! great job!
B) I am totally addicted to your recipes
C) I can not WAIT to make these little babies..you guys rock!
love the new look. love your recipes. have tried several and mmmmm delicious. keep coming back for ideas when my meal plan seems to lack something. thanks ladies, love you.
I had beignets for the first time last May at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans and loved them too. I’m excited to try making them, so thanks for the recipe! Great job on the new layout, too you guys! I love the picture index 🙂
I seriously LOVE Beignets Kate, especially warm ones! Can’t wait to try these!