Beignets

I love making these delicious doughnut holes (beignets) for my precious family. This recipe makes a lot; so, if you aren’t feeding a school, cut it in half.

ingredients

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (between 100 - 110 degrees)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast -- 2 1/4 tsp.
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. salt; I used 1 tsp.
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying (use a small to medium saucepan, and fill oil to about 1 - 2 inches deep)
3 cups powdered sugar -- just put a couple of scoops in a ziploc and add more if needed; you may not need this much.

directions

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1. Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
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2. In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together.
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3. Mix egg mixture with the yeast mixture.
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4. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
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5. Add shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.
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6. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
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7. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel.
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8. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
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9. Preheat oil in a deep fryer or saucepan to 350 degrees -- I needed it less hot. I only heated my oil to about 250 degrees, because at 350, my beignets browned too quickly on the outside and were doughy on the inside. You will want to test the first few.
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10. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares (or 2 inch squares).
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11. Deep fry, flipping when one side is light to golden brown. There is a little magic to this; these little suckers don’t always want to stay on the side that needs browning, so watch them closely while frying.
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12. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towel.
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13. Toss them with powdered sugar in a ziploc bag.
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Enjoy! These are so delicious! This recipe came from Paula Deen.