Sweet Treats!

This post is dedicated to a couple of desserts I made this week. First, drum roll please, Beignets! Beignets are a traditional New Orleans pastry and are served at the famous Cafe du Monde. They are basically powdered sugar-covered poufy little doughnuts without holes. I was lucky enough to visit New Orleans my senior year of high school during a Jazz band (yes, Jazz band) trip. New Orleans is a fantastic city in so many ways. The food there was incredible and I even came home with a beignet mix so I could try to replicate the delicious treats. I seem to remember using up the mix within the first two weeks I was home. Well, the other day while I was sorting through my recipes, I came across this make-from-scratch recipe for Beignets.

Beignets

from Southern Living Magazine

1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast

3 Tbsp warm water (100-110 degrees)

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1 tsp salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 to 3 quarts vegetable oil

Powdered Sugar

Combine yeast and 3 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let mixture stand 5 minutes.

Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Stir in sugar, shortening, and salt. Cool to lukewarm (100-110 degrees).

Add milk mixture, egg, and 2 cups flour to yeast mixture, stirring well. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out ontoa floured surface; knead 8 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down, and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll dough into a 12-10 inch rectangle; cut into 2-inch squares. Place on a floured surface; cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Pour oil to a dept of 2 to 3 inches into a dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees. Fry beignets, in batches, 1 minute on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with powdered sugar while still hot.

I followed the recipe exactly and these turned out fantastic! They were gone in a flash. I did have some trouble keeping my oil at a constant temperature. I'll need to work on that--practice makes perfect, right? Better make some more! I rolled the beignets in a bowl of powdered sugar after I drained them on paper towels. They were super sugary and one of the great things about beignets is getting the powdered sugar all over the place when you eat them. I seem to remember the beignets in New Orleans being a little more pillowy than mine. I might let them rise a little bit more next time and see if that helps. There will definitely be a next time. Matt would like this dessert to be a weekly tradition and, well, I can't say that didn't cross my mind as we were eating these. But, fried dough covered in sugar probably shouldn't be a weekly treat, so maybe it will be a monthly tradition!

Next up, chocolate chip cookies. I'm a sucker for cookies and chocolate chip cookies in particular. I can't make cookies too often because when I do, I eat them ALL. For me, cookies are like potato chips, you can never have just one (Potato chips are like that for me too). The recipe below resulted in great, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside cookies. Perfect with a glass of milk.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter (minus 2 Tbsp)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten fluffy

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla

1 12-0z package chocolate chips

Sift dry ingredients. Beat butter with sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies immediately from baking sheet and place on cooling rack.