Oven Baked Beignets

We are STILL battling illness in this house.  We also got another snow storm today.  They go hand in hand apparently!  Anyway, I was finally feeling a bit better this evening and decided to make an effort at making something.  If you've noticed the over posting of sweets, that's because I haven't made dinner in a few nights here.  I have been under the weather and that left Mike up to creating dinner.....or in his case....driving to get dinner most of the time.  This week I've seen so many amazing recipes for beignets that it inspired me.  It inspired me enough to use yeast for the very first time, as well as my dough hook for my stand mixer for the first time.  This blog makes me try new things and I love that! 



This recipe over at  "Eat, Live, Run" inspired me the most.  You bake the beignets instead of frying them!  I love it!  As previously mentioned, I'm fortunate enough to have had a beignet from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans back in January.  I almost passed them up, as I'm not normally a sweets person at 12am after having *cough* a couple of drinks but how could I pass it up??  I still dream about them to this day!   This recipe turned out very well for being baked and much healthier for you!  Are they Cafe Du Monde?  No, but they will keep me content until I can get back there some day! 

Sorry the pictures a bit blurry!

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Warm Water (approx. 100 degrees)
1 packet Active Dry Yeast
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
5 Tbs. Butter, cut up.
1 egg
3/4 Butter Milk

Powder sugar for coating.

Directions:
Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl with a pinch of sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes to get the yeast going.  It will be bubbly by the end of the 5 minutes.

 While the yeast is doing its thing, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder.)  Stir to blend together.

Add in the cut up butter, and with your hands, blend and press butter into flour mixture.   You eventually want it to look like large, coarse sand.  It will take a little time to achieve this. 

 

In another bowl, add the buttermilk and egg.  Stir to combine.  Then add in the yeast.  Stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients into the flour/butter mixture and stir to combine.  I then placed mine into the stand mixer and let the mixer do the work.  With the dough hook, run your mixer on medium speed for 6-8 minutes until it has formed a soft ball.  Grease a bowl.   Place dough in the greased bowl for 15 minutes to rest.  

After 15 minutes, take the dough out and take a rolling pin to it!  You will roll it out into as much of a square or rectangle shape as you can.  You want it about 3/4 inch thick.  Slice your dough into strips and then rectangles or squares.  Place in baking trays and let sit for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place beignets into over for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden on top.  Take out and sprinkle powder sugar all over the top.  Eat warm or reheat when ready to eat!  Yum!