Christmas time is here! And you KNOW we are missing the Disney Parks… and each other. When this is the case, we are more prone to recreate the memories of when we were together. If there is one Disney Park treat that is our go to, it’s beignets. We love them at Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and Port Orleans French Quarter. We prefer them to be Mickey-shaped, but in a pinch we will get the square ones at the Jazz Kitchen with no complaints!
The game changer for the Disney Park beignets are the seasonal offerings. There are endless versions, including a delicious sour cherry one in the summer. Butterscotch is another flavour we tried and enjoyed. If you’re looking for a never-let-you-down perfect beignet recipe then look no further than our base recipe here. If you want fall flavours, you won’t regret trying the Apple Cider or Pumpkin Spice Beignets.
But, since it’s Christmas, I knew that as part of our daily Countdown to Christmas, I wanted to make Christmas Beignets. We’ve done the amazing Hot Chocolate Beignets before, and I can say without hesitation, you will love them. A while back, Heidi tried Gingerbread Beignets in the Park with an Eggnog Anglais. Because she’s an amazing baker, she came back and whipped them up for us and I haven’t stopped thinking about them!
I’m an overachiever, so I thought, I can do the gingerbread beignets and anglais, and candy cane beignets out of the same batch, and it will be fine. In truth, I do not recommend this plan. If you want to try both, do them at two different times. If you are doing them both on the same night with one batch of dough, add the peppermint extract to half, and then add the gingerbread spices and molasses to the other half. You can do this either with a dough hook, kneading it in yourself, or running it through the bread machine dough cycle a second time.
Candy Cane Christmas Beignets
I started with the base recipe and added peppermint extract. I do them a little differently, in that I actually make the dough in the bread maker. (PRO TIP: Go to your local thrift store and get one for $10-$20. They are usually barely or never used, and they are a great option for making beignets, hot cross buns, cinnamon buns, etc.) I like that I can dump everything in quickly and the first proof will happen without any effort on my part. If you are doing it with a bread maker, just do the wet ingredients first, then the dry ingredients on the top. If you’re not using a bread machine, follow the steps here.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cream (I used 2% milk!)
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup icing sugar
- Crushed candy canes (about 10 candy canes; divided)
- Vegetable oil for frying
Method:
No Bread Maker: Follow the steps here. The only difference for the Candy Cane Beignets is that you will want to add peppermint extract.
Bread Maker: Put milk/cream, hot water (I put 3/4 cup water on for 1 min in the microwave), egg, and peppermint extract in the bottom of the bread maker. Add the dry ingredients, make a well for bread maker or instant yeast, and then add the yeast. Turn the bread maker on to the dough cycle. In an hour and a half, you are ready to roll out your beignets!
Roll out the beignets on a surface that’s been sprayed with cooking oil (I prefer this over a floured surface as it’s easier to clean), and use a Mickey-shaped cutter to make the beignets. Leave with a towel over them to rise again.
When you’re ready to fry, set the oven at 200 degrees with a sheet pan tray and cookie rack ready to go. (When the beignets are done, put them in the oven to keep warm.) Fry the beignets, about three at a time, in 360-375 degree vegetable oil. Flip when golden brown, pull out with metal tongs (not ones with a plastic tip!), and shake in a brown paper bag containing icing sugar and crushed candy canes. Right before serving, sprinkle some more crushed candy cane on top for extra crunch!
These were absolutely delicious… the crunch of the candy cane was definitely the best part! If these don’t say Christmas, I don’t know what does!
Gingerbread Christmas Beignets with Eggnog Anglais
I really love all of the flavours we’ve done, but this one just hits the mark for me. And my middle daughter, Addie, claims she doesn’t like beignets (the HORROR!), but she did like these ones. So that’s a win for me!
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molassesÂ
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cream (I used 2% milk!)
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup icing sugar
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Gingerbread spices (fresh nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; divided)
- 1/4 cup eggnog
Method:
No Bread Maker: Follow the steps here. Add the gingerbread spices to the dry ingredients, and molasses to the wet ingredients.
Bread Maker: Put milk/cream, hot water (I put 3/4 cup water on for 1 min in the microwave), egg, and molasses in the bottom of the bread maker. Add the dry ingredients, make a well for bread maker or instant yeast, and then add the yeast. Turn the bread maker on to the dough cycle. In an hour and a half, you are ready to roll out your beignets!
Roll out the beignets on a surface that’s been sprayed with cooking oil, and use a Mickey-shaped cutter to make the beignets. Leave with a towel over them to rise again.
When you’re ready to fry, set the oven at 200 degrees with a sheet pan tray and cookie rack ready to go. (When the beignets are done, put them in the oven to keep warm.) Fry the beignets, about three at a time, in 360-375 degree vegetable oil. Flip when golden brown, pull out with metal tongs (not ones with a plastic tip!), and shake in a brown paper bag containing icing sugar and gingerbread spices.
Before you fry, make the Eggnog Anglais. This is literally just icing sugar and eggnog whisked together until they hit the consistency that you want. I added a little bit of Bird’s Custard, but I wish I hadn’t. Since I didn’t cook it, or heat it up, it was cold. I had made it ahead of time and pulled it out when we were ready to serve the beignets.
For me, these beignets scream Christmas, and are a wonderful treat for the whole family! While they are exceptionally messy, I can say with confidence that the taste is worth the effort… and the mess!
Which of our beignets would you like to try first? We’d love to hear from you!
Have a magical Christmas!
Erica
Leave a Reply