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4.7 from 27 reviews

Pillow soft New Orleans Beignets (princess and the frog)

This delicious recipe for New Orleans beignets gives you pillowy soft square beignets, finished with a drizzle of honey and a dusting of powdered sugar. 

  • Total Time0 hours
  • Yield12 Beignets
  • DietVegetarian

Ingredients

DOUGH RECIPE

  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp (130 ml) whole warm milk
  • 2 tsp (6 g) active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (47 g) granulated sugar  
  • ¾ tsp (5 g) sea salt
  • Slightly under ¼ cup, 3.5 tbsp (50 g) unsalted butter

FOR FRYING

  • 6 ½ cups (1.5 l) sunflower oil, or any other neutral oil

FINISHING TOUCHES

  • 4 tbsp honey
  • ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar 

Instructions

  1. To prepare beignets, we need to start by preparing the dough.
  2. In a stand mixer bowl, combine ½ cup + 2 tbsp (130 ml) whole warm milk, 2 tsp (6 g) active dry yeast, and 1 tsp granulated sugar. Let it sit untouched for 10-15 minutes. After that time, you will notice that the top of the mixture has a layer of foam, which means the yeast is active!
  3. To this mixture, add 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup (47 g) granulated sugar, and ¾ tsp (5 g) sea salt. The rest of the dough ingredients minus the butter.
  4. Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and knead the dough mixture for 15 minutes at a low speed. The dough is very sticky at this point. Add slightly under ¼ cup or 3 ½ tbsp (50 g) unsalted room temperature butter, cut or broken into pieces, and knead for 10 more minutes. The dough should be slightly less sticky.
  5. Place the dough in a clean, slightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it proof for 2 hours and 30 minutes in a warm environment of 79 F (26C). After that time, it should double in size.
  6. Grab a large parchment paper sheet and lightly flour it to avoid sticking. Roll out the dough into a square or rectangular shape, depending on how you want your beignets to look. I wanted more of a rectangular-ish shape instead of fully square. Slice into 12 squares. Carefully separate each one and cut the parchment paper into squares slightly bigger than the dough, so they have room to grow.
  7. Place the beignets in a tray and cover them with plastic wrap. Proof again for approximately 1 hour, they should become puffy. At the 45-minute mark, you can start preheating your oil.
  8. In a large pan, pour 6 ½ cups (1.5 L) sunflower oil and heat it slowly so it reaches about 374F (190 °C). Start frying the beignets. Depending on how big your pan is, I recommend you fry 2 each time, this way you will have better control of the oil temperature. The temperature should be between 347F (175 °C) and 374°F (190 °C), nothing higher or lower than that.
  9. It takes about 2 minutes on each side; they should be golden brown on the outside and reach an internal temperature of 190F (88C). Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them all on top of a prepared cooling rack with a tray under. This will drain all of the excess oil.
  10. Fry all of the beignets.
  11. To serve, drizzle 4 tbsp of honey and, with a sieve, dust ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar.
  12. They’re best enjoyed warm. 

Equipment

Notes

The reason why we want parchment paper squares is so we can gently place the beignets in the oil without burning ourselves.

Higher oil temperature will burn the beignets and keep them raw in the center, and lower oil temperature will make the beignets absorb a lot of oil, resulting in very oily donuts.

If the oil temperature gets higher than the maximum, you can turn off the heat so it’s a little lower.

Please read the section on storing beignets to know how to enjoy them best. 

The nutrition values are very aproximate as it can change a lot in this recipe. 

  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Proofing times: 3 h 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 minutes
  • Category: Brunch, Dessert
  • Method: Frying
  • Cuisine: American, French

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/12
  • Calories: 330 kcal
  • Sugar: 11.5 g
  • Sodium: 152 mg
  • Fat: 21.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.3
  • Unsaturated Fat: 17 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30 g
  • Fiber: 0.8 g
  • Protein: 3.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 35 mg

Find it online: https://archersfood.com/new-orleans-beignets-recipe/