Mardi Gras is not Mardi Gras if you cannot eat beignets. At least that is my excuse;-) I have fond memories of my mom making beignets. She was a bit like me, always trying things and always cooking… Her beignets were wonderful. I have found a few recipes that were quite good but not nearly as delectable as my mom’s. Let’s see if the recipe featured in the February edition of the Southern Magazine can come close;-) I changed a few things though because I thought that they would be too plain.

Ingredients: for about 6 dozen

1 envelope of active dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water (105F), 1/2 granulated sugar, 1 cup of evaporated milk, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 cup of shortening, 6 to 7 cups of bread flour, sifted powdered sugar. I added 1/2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice, zest of an orange.

Combine yeast, 1/2 warm water and 1tsp of sugar in a bowl, mix well and let stand for 5 minutes. Add milk, 2 eggs, salt, and sugar.

Microwave the rest of the water (1 cup), and the orange juice with the zest until very hot, stir in the shortening until melted. Add to the yeast mixture, and beat at low speed. Slowly incorporate the flour a little at a time, beat well after each addition until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to a lightly greased boil and let the dough rest for 4 to 24 hours.

After the dough has rested, roll the dough into 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 2 1/4 inch squares.

Pour about 3 inches of oil into a Dutch oven; heat to 360. Fry dough in batches, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on wire rack. Dust immediately with powdered sugar.

Don’t they look great?! Well they were tasty but nowhere near that of my mom’s so I guess I will be back searching for a recipe that tastes as good as hers……..