All Easy Recipes. Cook all that you can cook. French - Type Doughnut Squares
(Beignets)
 
What You Need:            (To Make: five-inch square doughnuts)
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  • ¾ cup lukewarm water (110° to 115°)
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 4 to 4½ cups unsifted flour
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • Confectioners' sugar

    • How To Cook:
    1. Pour the lukewarm water into a shallow bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let the yeast rest for 2 or 3 minutes, then mix well. Set in a warm, draft free place (such as an unlighted oven) for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles up and the mixture almost doubles in bulk.

    2. Meanwhile, combine the granulated sugar, shortening and salt in a deep bowl. Pour in the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are thoroughly blended and the mixture has cooled to lukewarm (110° to 115°). Stir in the heavy cream, the yeast mixture and the egg.

    3. Add 2 cups of the flour and, when it is completely incorporated, beat in up to 2½ cups more flour, % cup at a time. Add only enough flour to make the dough smooth and not sticky. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir easily with the spoon, work in the additional flour with your fingers.

    4. Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer or large heavy saucepan to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 360° on a deep-frying thermometer.

    5. Gather the dough into a ball, place it on a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Dust a little flour over and under the dough and roll it out from the center to within an inch of the far edge.

    6. Lift the dough and turn it at right angles, then roll again from the center as before. Repeat-lifting, turning, rolling-until the rectangle is about ¾ inch thick and at least 25 inches long by 10 inches wide. If the dough sticks to the board, lift it with a wide metal spatula and sprinkle a little flour under it.

    7. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut the dough into 10 five-inch square beignets and deep-fry them immediately. Drop the beignets, two or three at a time, into the hot oil and turn them over with a slotted spoon as soon as they rise to the surface.

    8. Continue deep-frying, turning the beignets frequently, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown on all sides. As they brown, transfer the beignets to paper towels to drain.

    9. Sprinkle the beignets lightly with the confectioners' sugar and serve them at once while they are still hot.
    		 
    		 
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