Tiana's Famous Beignets in Savanna's Kitchen

Last Saturday, I decided I wanted to make beignets from the movie Princess and the Frog. I found a recipe from Tiana's recipe book, and went to work. They were surprisingly pretty easy and turned out really well! I'll be making them again for sure!

Prepare 2 inches of oil in an electric skillet.

Set to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour mixture .

 It gets really sticky!

Make sure to really flour your working surface.

Plop dough on floured surface and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky.

Slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares. I used a pizza cutter. It made it really easy!

Now it's time for frying the beignets! Drop the dough squares into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes on each side.

Move the beignets to a paper towel covered wire rack or plate.

Since there was a lot, I put them in a low heated oven to keep them warm.

The recipe said it would make 14 to 16, but I actually ended up with over 2 dozen! I think it's probably because I flattened it a little thinner than 1/2 inch. But they were still big and fluffy!

Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy! I've heard it's good with honey too!

Tiana’s Famous Beignets

Makes 14 to 16

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine 2¾ cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.
3. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares.
4. Now it’s time to fry the beignets! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.
5. Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!

Reprinted from the book DISNEY’S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG TIANA’S COOKBOOK RECIPES FOR KIDS. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group.