From New Orleans, with love

Okay. It’s time to admit it. Time to put it out for the world to read – no I don’t even pretend to believe that the world is reading this, but they could!

I love donuts. More than love, dare I say it, I lust for donuts! My mouth begins to water at the mere thought of a fluffy, delectable, sugary fried pillow of dough maybe wrapped in chocolate, possibly filled with pastry cream… If I were Superman, Donuts would be my Kryptonite.

There – I’ve said it; and even if this were a stage of some kind of remedial healing or donut therapy, I reject that notion and substitute my own. I will never, ever give up donuts!

I have tried them in most parts of the country I’ve visited and don’t think there is ever a distance I would not consider driving to get a great donut. One of the best I’ve had locally was at the now closed Hans Bakery in Anoka. I think that it was there that my parents introduced me to my donut addiction. Currently, my top honors goes to Mojo Monkey Donuts in St Paul (love her PB & J Bismarck and Chai donut holes!) & can’t wait to try Glam Doll Donuts in Mpls soon!

But for whatever reason, maybe it was fear or perhaps lack of knowledge; I’m not sure, but I’ve never made my own donuts until now. I think part of the reason I forced myself into doing this was trying the wonderful Beignets from the Cajun 2 Geaux food truck. Tim makes the lightest, fluffiest beignets I have ever had. And when Food Truck season was over, I needed my fix satisfied. There is nothing like having a HOT, fresh donut… why do you think mini-donuts sell so well at fairs?

And as promised, I tried out this Beignet recipe and it was fantastic! Since I just got a new fryer, I couldn’t think of a better way to christen it than this! While the cornmeal eluded me in my pantry, the recipe called for only a small amount, so I felt ok omitting it. Next time I will include it as I’m sure it adds a nice texture to them.

 

Beignets

 

Prep Time: 25 min              Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour                Cook Time: 30 min             Yield: about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 11/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Powdered Sugar

 

Directions

1.     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, milk, sugar, and butter, and mix well for 2 minutes. Add the egg, and mix well. Add 4 cups of the flour, the cornmeal and salt. Beat at low speed until all the flour is incorporated, then on medium speed until a ball of dough forms, adding more flour as needed if too sticky.

2.     Remove from the mixer, form into a ball, and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.

3.     Heat the fryer to 360°F.

4.     Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a thick rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Roll out until about 1/4-inch thick, and with a sharp knife, cut the dough into rectangles, about 2 by 3 inch.

5.     Drop the dough into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the beignets as they are cooking, and turning them constantly to cook on all sides until golden, about 3 minutes per batch. Remove the beignets from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

6.     Serve the beignets warm, tossed a paper bag of powdered sugar.

 

Recipe courtesy of Emeril - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/sopapillas-recipe/index.html

(He makes Sopapillas instead of Beignets – this recipe works great for both, subbing honey for powdered sugar for Sopapillas)