Beignets

New Year's Resolution: start blogging again. Yes, still about food. Why the new name? Because I am now Mrs. Fryling, and would like my blog to reflect the new email and name. Granted, the new name isn't really "new," but it's still a convenient excuse. I'm making a fresh start, and I'm excited about it!

This year, I am hoping to blog about my efforts to start a new kind of business on Saipan - a food business! Today, I woke up at 6:15am (yes, that's before the sunrise) and made beignets for my office co-workers. For those of you who don't know, beignets are French doughnuts. Very light, fluffy, and sweet. When I open my coffee shop (after the necessary capital collection, of course), I intend to serve beignets with coffee and espresso drinks. Still looking for a new and creative name for my spin off of beignets. Trying to make it a little more island-friendly and fun. If anyone has ideas, let me know!

Chris did insist that I take a picture of the beignets this morning, but the picture is in his camera, and so I will have to post the recipe sans pictures for now. Keep in mind, this is just the basic recipe - I'll be creating many spin-offs of this in the near future. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the butter, water, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the granulated sugar; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Return the saucepan to high heat and cook the dough, stirring until very smooth, 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
In a saucepan, heat the oil to 375°. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Scoop 10 scant tablespoons of the dough into the oil and fry, turning, until golden and puffed, 6 minutes. Transfer the beignets to the baking sheet and poke a small hole in the side of each to release steam. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Pour the 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar into a bowl. Toss the hot beignets in the sugar; transfer to a platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.