Bring home a taste of Mardi Gras with beignets
We can’t all make it to Bourbon Street for Mardi Gras, but you can bring a taste of the festivities home with a little help from Universal Orlando Resort.
The Florida resort is celebrating Mardi Gras all the way through April 16 with festive foods and entertainment, including star-studded concerts and whimsical parades with full-size floats. This Mardi Gras, Universal Orlando is sharing its exclusive recipe for mouthwatering beignets with USA TODAY.
You may have many of the ingredients for this classic fried treat already in your kitchen, but they’re also available at any grocery story. Bon appétit and laissez les bons temps rouler!
Universal Orlando Resort Beignets
Ingredients
⬤ 3 cups all-purpose flour, additional for dusting
⬤ 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
⬤ 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
⬤ 1 cup warm whole milk, about 100°F
⬤ 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
⬤ 1 large egg
⬤ 3 tablespoons butter, melted
⬤ 11⁄2 to 2 quarts vegetable oil
⬤ 3 cups powdered sugar
Recommended equipment
⬤ Mixer with paddle and dough hook attachments
⬤ Measuring glass
⬤ Medium bowl
⬤ 4-quart pot
⬤ Cooling rack
⬤ Baking sheet
⬤ Tongs
⬤ Tea towel
Instructions
1) Start the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 3 cups of flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
2) Bloom the yeast. In a 4-cup measuring glass or medium bowl, combine the warm milk, the remaining tablespoon of sugar and yeast. Allow it to sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
3) Make the dough. Beat the egg into the foamy milk mixture and add the mixture to the mixing bowl of flour. Mix by hand or using the paddle attachment with your stand mixer set to low or medium-low, until you get a wet dough with shaggy dry bits throughout. This can1take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 ⁄2 minutes.
Swap out the paddle attachment for the dough hook. Add the melted butter. Set the mixer to medium-low until the butter is incorporated, about 1 minute.
4) Knead the dough. Turn the mixer on medium to medium-high and knead on the hook for about 6 minutes. The dough should be tacky to the touch.
5) Shape the dough and let it rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic and allow it to rise until doubled in size. This can take 1-2 hours.
6) Set up frying and dusting stations.
Fill a large 4-quart pot with a few inches of vegetable oil (about 2 quarts). Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet and place it next to the pot of oil along with tongs.
Sift 3 cups of powdered sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl and set it next to the rack and a sheet pan.
7) Cut the dough and heat the oil.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it out into an oblong shape (about 10 inches by 14 inches and 1⁄4 inch thick). Cut the dough into 16 rough rectangles and cover with a flour-dusted tea towel to rest while you heat the oil.
8) Fry the beignets. Heat the frying oil to 325°F. Fry the beignets in batches until golden, about 11⁄2 to 2 minutes per side.
9) Drain and coat the beignets in sugar. Use tongs to lift the beignets out of the frying oil and place them on the baking rack.
Let some of the oil drain off for about a minute before covering in powdered sugar. You want to coat them with sugar while the beignets are still hot, but not straight out of the fryer dripping in oil. Drop the drained beignets into the bowl with the powdered sugar. Turn to coat. Repeat with the remaining beignets.
10) Enjoy while warm.