Mardi Gras Recipe: Beignets

Since Mardi Gras is approaching, celebrate with some homemade beignets! Orange-Scented Beignets are perfect for Mardi Gras. Orange-Scented Beignets By Borgata Hotel Casino Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus DuBois Ingredients: ¼ cup Yeast – fresh 1 cup Water – 100 F 1 cup Milk 8 cups AP Flour 1/3 cup Sugar 3 Tsp Salt 1 cup Eggs – fresh 1 cup Butter – soft 1 Tsp Nutmeg – fresh ground 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract 1 Tbsp Orange Zest – fresh 1 Tbsp Orange Flower Water (orange liqueur may be substituted) 2 Qts Vegetable oil for frying like canola 1 Lb Powdered sugar for dredging  Directions: 1.      Crumble yeast into water and whisk in the mixing bowl. 2.      Add all other ingredients and mix for 8 minutes with the hook. 3.      Remove from the mixer and place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and  place in a warm place and let rest for one hour. Dough should nearly double in size. 4.      Tip dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to ½ inch thick. 5.      Cut into 2 inch squares and place squares onto a plate. 6.      Have oil preheated to 330 fusing a fat thermometer. When oil has reached 330 f gently release square pieces of beignet dough into the heated oil and begin frying. Let brown first side before turning over with tongs. Brown second side. Whole frying process should take about 1 – 1.5 minutes. 7.      When done frying, remove beignets from oil and place onto a draining pan lined with paper towels for just a few seconds. 8.      Roll or gently toss into powdered sugar and completely dredge fried beignets in the sugar. Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest StumbleUpon LinkedIn