Cafe du Monde Beignets for Mardi Gras
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With Mardi Gras coming up, why not make some hot, fresh, homemade beignets?
I’ve been wanting to make homemade beignets ever since visiting Cafe du Monde in New Orleans last spring…yuuuum!
Funny story…my husband and I road-tripped to NOLA to see our favorite band. I was super excited when I realized that our hotel was only a 3 minute walk from Cafe du Monde, so we headed over there the first morning after the first show. There were no free tables and just as we were about to leave, two people waved us over to their table. Turns out they’d seen my husband’s band t-shirt and wanted to give their table to fellow fans. 🙂
Then, later that morning, Aaron went to get the car while I ran into a little coffee shop get more coffee. I was in there maybe 10 minutes. As I got in the car with our coffee, Aaron told me that two guys from the band had walked by the car and I’d just missed them. I totally thought he was kidding…until he showed me the photos he’d taken. I couldn’t believe I’d missed them! This is a little embarrassing to admit but I made Aaron drive around a bit to see if we could find them (hey, I’ve loved this band since I was 13). Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) we did not. But at least we were able to catch their second show that evening!
Anyway….
After eating beignets 3 days in a row I picked up a box of Cafe du Monde beignet mix so I could make them at home.You can make beignets from scratch, which is what I would normally do, but the Cafe du Monde mix is SO easy! No searching for the right ingredients, no waiting for them to raise. Just mix with water, roll out, cut into squares, fry in hot oil, and then drench in powdered sugar.
By the way, I should mention here that this is not a sponsored post and I’m not getting any kickback from this post. I just want to share my experience with making beignets. 🙂
The beignets turned out great! I thought they tasted best hot and freshly made but even the ones we ate several hours later were still soft and tasty. If you can pick up Cafe du Monde beignet mix, either in NOLA or at World Market, definitely do so!
How to Make Cafe du Monde Beignets
Pour 2 cups beignet mix in a bowl.
Add 7 ounces of water.
And stir to make a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface.
And then roll it out to 1/4 inch thick.
Cut the dough into squares. I tried a knife and a pizza cutter and the pizza cutter worked the best.
Heat the oil to 370 F. Cafe du Monde uses and recommends cotton seed oil but you can use canola or grape seed oil. I used canola and it worked just fine.
Once the oil has heated to the right temperature, take one of the small end pieces and drop it in the oil.
It the oil starts to bubble and the dough rises to the top within a few seconds, it’s ready for your beignets.
Drop a couple pieces of beignet dough in the oil and let them cook for a minute or two on each side until golden brown.
Take them out of the oil and set them on a paper towel.
While they’re still warm, cover in powdered sugar.
Serve warm with a cafe au lait. Enjoy!
Cafe du Monde Beignets
Make tender, hot, fresh Cafe du Monde beignets at home!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cafe du Monde beignet mix
- 7 oz water
- 2-3 cups cottonseed, grape seed or canola oil
Instructions
- Stir beignet mix and water to form a dough.
- Turn out onto a well floured surface and roll out to 1/4 inch thick.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into squares about 2 1/2 inches thick.
- Heat oil to 370 F. Once it's heated, drop a small end piece of dough into the oil. If it bubbles and rises to the top within a few seconds, you're ready to make your beignets.
- Drop 1-3 beignets into the hot oil (depending on the size of your pan). Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip over so the other side cooks. Take them out when golden brown. (I recommend opening one of the first ones up to make sure the inside is fully cooked).
- Let beignets rest on a paper towel and dust liberally with powdered sugar. Enjoy while hot!
Yum! Thanks for linking up to the Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesday; I can’t wait to see what you bring to the party next!