TAKING A BITE OUT OF DISNEY: Beignets

By Monica Pinto

Beignets (Port Orleans French Quarter)

I hope you all enjoyed the recipe for the flank steak marinade from Liberty Tree Tavern – yum! I’ll bet it made you feel like you were back in Liberty Square, maybe sitting outside of the restaurant after that delicious meal watching the Liberty Belle riverboat pull away for a trip to Tom Sawyer Island.

Today, we’re going over to a resort – Port Orleans French Quarter – for some of their famous beignets. Everyone raves about these hot fried dough treats. And, of course, if you love Princess Tiana, you’ll love these beignets – they are her signature treat, after all!

So, if you love beignets, I have some good news! Now, you can prepare them for yourself. Yay!! And, BONUS!!! I’m also giving you the allergy-free recipe for all of my Disney friends out there who are gluten, egg, dairy, and soy free!

So, if you’d like to enjoy these at home (and considering I’ve already scoured the internet to get the recipe for you, that’ll be pretty easy), just throw on your Mickey apron, set your table, grab your ingredients, and delight in a little bit of Disney in your own home.

Beignets

Ingredients

1 pack dry yeast
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
7 cups flour
1 ½ cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1 cup undiluted evaporated milk
¼ cup soft shortening oil for frying
Confectioner’s sugar

Directions

Sprinkle yeast over water in a large bowl and stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt, milk, and eggs. Beat until blended and add the flour. Cover and chill overnight.

Roll out on floured board to 1/8” thickness and cut into 2 ½” squares. Deep fry at 360° for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides.

Drain on paper towels and then sprinkle heavily with confectioner’s sugar.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Now for my allergen-free friends, here is the gluten, egg, dairy, and soy free recipe:

Allergy-Free Beignets

Gluten, Egg, Dairy, and Soy Free

Ingredients

2 lbs Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Pizza Crust Mix
1 tbsp dry active yeast (comes inside the package of pizza dough mix)
1 ¼ cups warm water
3 oz sugar
½ tsp salt
5 tsp EnerG egg replacer
10 oz apple juice
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp canola oil
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the warm water and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a stand mixer or bowl of a food processor, add the water/yeast mix and all other ingredients, except half of the pizza dough mix (you will add it later).

Mix to combine.

Add the remaining pizza mix ¼ cup at a time, mixing each time to obtain a dough-like consistency. Once that consistency is reached, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface (you can use the remaining pizza mix for this, if any).

Roll the dough out to ¼” thickness and cut into 2”x3” pieces.

You can wrap these tightly with parchment paper to separate them, and they will keep for up to 6 weeks in the freezer.

If possible, leave the beignets out at room temperature for 20 minutes before frying.

Lightly press the beignets to increase their width slightly.

Deep fry at 350° until golden brown on both sides.

Drain on paper towels and then sprinkle heavily with confectioner’s sugar.

Makes about 40 beignets.

Delicious, right?

I hope you enjoyed taking a bite out of Disney right in your own home!

Monica

About Monica P.

I am a wife and mother and passionate about Walt Disney World. I love preparing for our Disney trips and am constantly reading up on all things Disney, listening to Disney podcasts, and am a member of various Disney Facebook groups. In addition to my website,www.themouseinourhouse.com, I am also a blogger for The Mouse For Less (www.themouseforless.com).

You can catch me on:

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Email: themouseinourhouse [at] yahoo [dot] com

Come along with me to celebrate and explore all things Disney from my perspective.