Glazed Coffee Beignets

If Heaven is a place on earth, it’s Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. The French Quarter fixture specializes in cafe au lait and beignets. Beignets are French-style donuts that are square, rather than round, and are covered in powdered sugar – lots of it.

Coffee Beignets with Coffee Glaze

Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Beignets:

3/4 cup ground dark coffee
3 cups cold water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope (.25-ounce) active dry yeast
7 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups warm half and half (100-110°F)
2 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil

Glaze:

4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Brew coffee on BOLD using 3/4 cup ground dark coffee with 3 cups water. After brewing, set aside 1/2 cup for the glaze.
Beignets: In a large bowl of the stand mixer, combine sugar and yeast. Gradually add 1 ½ cups warm coffee (100-110°F) and let stand 10 minutes or until foamy.
With the stand mixer on LOW, beat in half of the flour, half and half, eggs, butter and salt.
Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Remove from bowl and knead for about 2 minutes, adding flour if necessary to make a smooth and soft dough.
Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. Dough will be puffy but it does not have to double in size.
Glaze: While the dough rises, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup coffee and vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to dip the warm beignets.
Heat oil in deep fryer to 350°F. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Place wire racks on top of paper towel-lined trays. Drop 4 squares of dough at a time into preheated oil. Fry about 1 minute per side. Remove from hot oil and drain on racks.
Dip warm beignets into the glaze, and set onto wire racks to drain excess.

Notes

Serves 36

I always have Cafe Du Monde beignet mix and coffee with chicory in my pantry. When enjoyed together they make up a simple weekend breakfast that just can’t be beat.

As you can imagine, when the Test Kitchen decided to combine the two and make coffee beignets with a coffee glaze I couldn’t contain my excitement.

We switched things up a bit and didn’t cover these confections in a mound of powdered sugar (although, you definitely could). Instead, they dunked these steaming, deep-fried delights into a rich, coffee glaze.

The addition of coffee into the dough adds depth of flavor that standard beignets lack. The coffee glaze only heightens the rich coffee flavor and adds a beautiful sheen. Enjoy these coffee beignets with a cup of joe for a breakfast that coffee lovers, native New Orleanians, and brunch-goers alike will enjoy.