BBB (Beautiful Bodacious Beignets!)

I have been wanting to make these since I saw them on "The Princess and the Frog." Oh, and since I had them at Disneyland in February. The ones in New Orleans square are SO good...I should look for that recipe...humm.
I found this recipe on Pinterest last night just before I went to bed and I jumped out of bed and whipped up a batch to have this morning. Obviously its super simple if I can do it when I am tired.

This is the dough...actually, half the dough, I had already cooked up half before I realized I should take pictures of this masterpiece.

I put them on a linen towel covered with flour before putting them in the oil.

Got my draining paper towels ready.

my oil is heating

the dough is frying.

And here is whats left after the first batch. LOL

The recipe made a TON. My 4 different neighbors are very grateful. and so is my tummy.

Recipe taken from here

I tweaked it just a bit. by adding almond extract because at my house that stuff is "the addictive chemical that makes you crave it fort nightly, smarty." (if you caught the movie reference we can be friends forever LOL)

Ingredients:

1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
1 cup evaporated milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 teaspoon almond extract
7 cups all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup shortening, softened

Canola oil for deep frying 
An ample amount of powdered sugar for dusting 

Preparation:

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water; stir to dissolve and let stand for 5 minutes.

Add sugar, salt, beaten eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and lemon essence. Whisk to blend thoroughly. 

Add 4 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Add shortening and mix. Gradually blend in remaining flour.

You will get a very sticky dough. Leave it in the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. 

When the dough has rested the required amount, flour a clean surface, roll dough out on floured board to 1/8-inch thickness. 

Heat oil in a medium saucepan; initially you will want to heat it on high heat, and as you start frying the beignets, you may have to turn the heat down a bit. 

Cut rolled out dough into 2 1/2 to 3-inch squares. Deep fry at 160° for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned on both sides; make sure you don’t overcrowd the saucepan. The beignets fry pretty quickly. 

Drain on paper towels and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. 

Dough can cut and frozen, separated in container with waxed paper. I froze mine and I have yet to see how the dough holds up after freezing. I will post the results in this post when I try. 

This recipe yields a large amount of beignets, so either cut the recipe in half, or freeze half of the dough after cutting it. 

Enjoy your beignets! I know we did!