As they say in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, Laissez les bons temps router! Instead of making Fasnachtsküchle or Krapfen this year for Fat Tuesday this year, I went with traditional Pâte à Choux Beignets. Light and airy, these were great. Eat them quickly though because they don’t taste nearly as good once the fry oil has chilled. Would be great with a strong black chicory coffee!
Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
large pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
oil for frying, such as canola or vegetable
powdered sugar for topping
Directions
Place water, butter, sugar, and salt in a sauce pot over medium high heat. Stir until butter is melted and everything comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour into the mixture all at once while stirring quickly. Continue to stir and cook off the moisture in the dough until it pulls away from the sides and starts to form into a ball. This should take about a minute. Place dough into the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add eggs in one at a time. Do not add another egg until the one before has been completely absorbed into the batter. The batter will look smooth and glossy when ready. Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to overnight.
Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a pan over medium-high heat to 350F. Use a small scoop or disher to drop about 1 tablespoon of batter per beignet into the oil. They will puff up considerably. Fry in batches. Turn beignets after several minutes and continue to cook until each side is golden, the beignet is puffed, and it is started to create a seam (the dough will start to burst creating a seam when it is ready). This will take about 7-9 minutes of frying. Be patient so that the inside is not uncooked. Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
