Beignets are normally fried but, I prefer baked…they have less fat and taste just as good, if not better 😀 Beignets have become my daughters new favorite food. So, for her birthday sleepover party I baked up a batch of smaller bite sized beignets for her and her friends.
I prepared the dough the night before. I let the dough rise for about 1 hour, then covered and refrigerated until morning.
I removed the dough and let it sit out to come to room temperature. This took about 45 minutes but mostly because it was a cold morning. You could put the dough in the oven to proof again.
Once the dough was warm again. I flipped it out onto a lightly floured counter. Rolled it out into a large rectangle shape.
Using a pizza cutter, I sliced the dough into 2 inch strips.
After cutting the dough into 2 by 2 inch squares, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Place risen squares on baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.
Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- In a large bowl combine yeast and 3 tablespoons warm water; let mixture stand 5 minutes.
- Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Once small bubbles begin to form on sides of pan, stir in sugar, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool.
- To yeast add milk, egg and 2 cups of flour. Stir with wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Add a little of the remaining flour at a time to form a soft dough. The dough will still be a bit sticky.
- Use the remaining flour to coat the counter. Turn dough out and kneed 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth. Add more flour to the counter to keep the dough from sticking.
- Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to your mixing bowl and spread around with your hand. Place the dough in the bowl and roll it around to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Turn dough out onto floured counter.
- Roll dough into a large rectangle about ¼ in thickness (any thicker and the dough will not puff up as much and the beignet will be dense). Use a pizza cutter to make strips 2-3 inches wide, then cut strips in opposite direction to make squares. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Coat baking tray with cooking spray. Place dough 2 inches apart on to tray.
- Bake 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm.
You will love these baked beignet bites, they are delicious little square pillows that you can pop in your mouth.
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