Gluten Free Beignets

If you are new to my blog then you might not know but I am a Disney lover.  I love Disney, most importantly Disneyland.  I have lived within an hour of Disneyland almost my whole life and I have taken advantage of the proximity and have been a season pass holder most of my life.  I now love to go to Disneyland with my kids and one of the things that I love about Disneyland is all the yummy food that they have there.  They really are super great about gluten free and really all food allergies and go out of their way to provide yummy treats for everyone.  One thing that they don't provide, at least not yet, is gluten free beignets.  New Orleans square is a huge part of Disneyland and they have all different kinds of food there but one of the things that they are super famous for is their beignets.  My kids always beg for them when we are there and I usually give in while I don't get to partake in the treats, I do smell them and try to remember what they taste like.  The last time that I was there, I was with a friend and talking to her made me determined to create a gluten free beignet that was just as good.  Well folks, I think I did it!
 Now, if you aren't familiar with what a beignet is, it is really a donut with powdered sugar (lots of powdered sugar) sprinkled on top.  It is an enriched dough that is cut into squares and fried.  You know that they are beignets because they have their signature puff.  The dough will puff when it is being fried and it will create the most delicious little pillows.  They are truly heavenly.  I was a little nervous when I sent out on a mission to make these because this kind of dough is really the most difficult to work with and it can be super finicky.  It is not like using regular flour.  The dough is super sticky and almost like really thick cake batter so you can imagine how difficult it can be to roll out and cut into shapes.
 I was actually really happy with the way that this dough came out and it wasn't as difficult to work with as I had initially thought it would be.  Right after you make the dough, it is beyond sticky.  I really oil my hands up and any spatulas that I use, I oil them up as well.  I try not to work with it too much and just do enough to get it out of the mixing bowl into the greased bowl to rise.  After rising for about an hour, the dough was a lot easier to work with.  It was not as sticky and just keeping all the surfaces well floured kept the dough manageable. Just try to not force the dough into doing something that you want it to do.  Instead of just go slow and make sure that everything is well floured and that you aren't rushing through.
 I did have kind of an uneven outcome when I fried the dough.  Some of them came out super flat and some of them came out with a perfect puff.  I think that it really had to do with the oil temperature.  My thermometer broke right when I went to make them and I couldn't really monitor the temperature of the oil. The hotter the oil got the flatter the beignets came out so you really want to make sure that the oil is at 350 degrees F. the whole time so that they all puff perfectly.  Another thing that you want to be aware of is that these beignets do not save! They need to be consumed pretty shortly after or they get a bit hard and not very appetizing.  These are not something that you can make before hand.  They are the best just a few minutes after being taken out of the oil.  They are amazing right out of the oil.  I probably ate 3 to 4 when I was making them because they were that good.
These beignets might seem like a big task to take on but they were actually not too hard to make.  I made them on a Saturday morning and it wasn't stressful at all.  Each step was pretty easy and painless.  I will definitely be making these again but probably when we have lots of company over because eating 30 beignets is a pretty big task! Check out the video down below to see exactly how I made them and head over to my YouTube channel for more great recipes and product reviews.

Yield: 30 Beignets
Author: Kimberly Llewellyn

Gluten Free Beignets

Get transported right to New Orleans with this delicious treat! They are light, fluffy and everything that a beignet should be!
prep time: 1 H & 15 Mcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 1 H & 25 M

ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 cups gluten free 1 to 1 flour blend, (I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 cups canola oil or shortening  for frying, plus more for greasing
  • powdered sugar, for topping

instructions:

How to cook Gluten Free Beignets

  1. Pour the water into a medium bowl or a large liquid measuring cup and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
  2. Add the eggs, milk, melted butter and whisk to combine.
  3. In a large bowl or bowl of a mixer, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar.
  4. While slowly stirring dry ingredients, add wet ingredients until incorporated.  Then increase mixer speed to medium/high and beat for about 2 to 3 minutes until fully combined.
  5. Grease a large bowl with oil and transfer the dough to the greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has about doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  6. Punch dough down with your fist, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
  7. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 2-inch squares, then transfer the squares to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. Heat the oil or shortening in a large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F.
  9. Lower the dough squares, 3-4 at a time, into the hot oil. As soon as the beignets puff up, use tongs to gently flip them over. Fry until golden brown on both sides, flipping as needed, 2-3 minutes. Transfer beignets to a wire rack to drain.
  10. Dust the beignets with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Created using The Recipes Generator

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4 comments

  1. This looks great! Must try! Thanks!

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  2. Replies
    1. I always cook them immediately and haven't tried to freeze the dough so I'm not sure if it will change them or they will cook like normal.

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  3. Good recipe. Worked well. My dough was a little wet and had to add quite a bit of flour to handle it, but you'd never know they were gluten free.

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