A little bit of Southern charm: Beignets

Cinnamon rolls on Sunday mornings has become tradition in our house. And usually, I cop out by just buying mine pre-made from the grocery store and all I have to do is pop them in the oven, then BAM! Instant happiness for my family.

Unfortunately, when I went to the grocery store this week - I forgot to buy the beloved cinnamon rolls (I blame pregnancy brain), and thus, I'm given horrified stares the night before.

It's not that I have a problem with making cinnamon rolls from scratch - I actually prefer them that way.

It's the fact that i refuse to wake up at 5am to have them ready for breakfast.

Maybe later in the pregnancy when my insomnia kicks in, but not at this point - no siree.

So while contemplating a good substitute (and believe me, I have a plethora of cinnamon roll substitutes), I decided to browse Pinterest this morning while watching cartoons with my daughter. And low and behold, I came across a Southern classic that I have yet to grace my family with.

Beignets.

Deep-fried, sugar-covered, French donuts.

They're better than donuts in my opinion, especially when I saturate them with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. Oh. My. Gosh.

Now don't get me wrong here, I am not a fan of any kind of deep-fried food. 

I know, I know. You gasp and wail in the shame of the Southerner that I am - believe me, my husband does. But I have never been one for the greasy, deep-fried stuff that my American counterparts seem to love.

I blame it on my mom who raised me as a health-nut.

I was even a vegetarian when I worked at a summer camp on a ranch. Don't even ask how I managed that.

But. I love these.

Back to the beignets.

I found these babies on Pinterest (I actually have a Lousisana/French cuisine cookbook with the same recipe, but I was too lazy to dig it out), so props go to Chocolate, Chocolate and More.

Let me tell you, beignets sound scary, but they're super easy to make.

Yes, they have to rise like every other yeast-based dough, but it's a one-hour rise time and then it's straight to cooking and they cook up crazy fast.

Also, you can tweak the recipe as needed and they stay pretty much the same.

So without further ado,

Buttermilk Beignets

(Adapted from Chocolate, Chocolate and More's recipe for Buttermilk Beignets)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4-5 cups bread flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Oil for frying
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan until just warm. Remove from heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, yeast, sugar, and milk. Stir to combine. Let the mixture rest for about five minutes or until the yeast mixture begins to foam. 
2. Add in 4 cups of bread flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. With a dough hook, mix on low until all the ingredients are combined (about 3-5 minutes). Switch speed to medium and knead the mixture until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Add bread flour by 1/4 cup as needed. The dough should still be sticky.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour.
4. In a fryer or large pan, pour in about 3 inches of oil and preheat oil to 375 degrees over medium heat. Line a draining rack or plate with paper towels and set to the side.
5. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and roll out dough into a square and then fold it over itself a few times. Roll it out again to about 1/2 inch thickness. Folding the dough will help create air pockets and make the beignets fluffy.
6. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares (I never measure my squares, but I like them about the size of my palm). Gentle stretch your squares and then drop them into the hot oil.
7. Let fry for about a minute on each side until golden brown, then remove them to a plate and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
8. Repeat with remaining squares and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, feel free to check out some more of my recipes!

Photos taken with iPhone4 and edited with iPhoto.
All images owned by Butcher, Baker, and the Homemaker.

Peanut Butter Cookies

While planning and packing for our mini-Colorado vacation, StudHubs and Little Bird requested some cookies to go along on our trip.

What kind of cookies did they ask for?

Peanut Butter.

Everytime. Never fails.

Actually, StudHubs like the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's kisses in the middle (which kind of look like little flowers), so I might be generous and throw some of those in there for him.

Only because I love him.

I feel like all that I'm doing is constantly posting recipes for sweets, but I'll even this out soon.

Believe me. You'll be begging for my dessert recipes again.

Mwuahaha.

Assemble ingredients! I like saying that. Even though I haven't watched the Avengers yet.

Sad story, but we'll probably watch it soon. I have it on Netflix!

(*Not pictured is the brown sugar and Hershey's Kisses)

Cream your shortening and peanut butter into a beautiful creamy concoction.

Looks the exact same, doesn't it? But don't worry, this is a different picture!

Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Mix that bad boy up.

In a separate bowl (sorry for the lack of picture, I was on a time-crunch with making these), sift together your flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Slowly add into the peanut buttery goodness.

Until it's all incorporated! It comes together beautifully and it fun to mold.

If you have kids, this will be one of their favorite cookie dough recipes. Little Bird loves to help me make the balls of dough and them mash them with a fork.

She can get a little excessive with the fork though...

Let the dough chill in your fridge for at least an hour.

I had mine chill overnight because the heat in Texas in unbearable.

Hot ovens make for hot kitchens - which does not make for happy families in the summer.

There are multiple options to cover your cookie dough. Either with a tea towel - like I do, or with plastic wrap, or even with both!

Please note that if you chilled your cookie dough overnight, set it out for at least ten minutes before you handle the dough. This allows it to get soft enough to handle!

Roll your cookie dough in sugar!

Put on your baking pan (in case you weren't sure what to do with these delectable balls of dough).

Then make a crisscross pattern with your fork!

For the cookies with the chocolate kisses in the middle, I didn't flatten though because then it makes the cookie awkwardly thin. So for each pan, I made six cookies with the crisscrosses and six cookies were left in their primitive state.

Be sure to unwrap your chocolate kisses while the cookies are baking to a beautiful golden brown.

Bake up those cookies!

Once the come out of the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack immediately. They will seem soft and gooey, but I promise they harden up as they cool.

Immediate push the chocolate kisses into the center of your cookie dough until it just barely sits in there.

Like this.

Then sit back and watch your family devour these bad boys.

If you're like me, you'll have to hide a few just so you can have some. These are usually gone in an hour in my household.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Hershey's Kitchens

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Additional sugar for rolling dough
• Hershey's kisses (optional)

Directions

Cream shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl. Add in 1/3 cup of sugar and brown sugar, beating until fluffy. Add in milk, egg, and vanilla, mixing well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Slowly add into peanut butter mixture, making sure to beat the dough together until everything is incorporated. 

Refrigerate for at least one hour. Make sure to let the dough stand at room temperature for at least ten minutes if refrigerated overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in additional sugar until coated.

For regular peanut butter cookies, use a fork to make a crisscross pattern on the cookie.

For cookies with chocolate kisses, leave cookie dough in a ball form on your baking pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

If you are making the cookies with the chocolate kisses, make sure to unwrap your kisses while they are cooking.

Remove immediately to a cooling rack.

Press chocolate kisses into the unformed cookie dough and let sit until cookies come to room temperature.

Hide some and let your family enjoy the rest.

Photos were taken with iPhone 4 and edited with iPhoto.