Fran's French Beignets

One of my favorite activities at Stephenson House (besides sewing) is cooking in the 1820 kitchen. An easy recipe to make in the hearth is Beignets. It's also a great demonstration that visitors can help prepare. The recipe is pretty simple and produces a tasty treat. 

This recipe was developed by Fran Colbert at Old Fort Madison in the early 1990s. She was the person who sparked my love of open-hearth cooking.

What you'll need:

• flour
• baking powder (or pearlash if you're keeping it authentic to the early 19th century. Baking powder wasn't invented until the 1840s).
• salt
• milk (or buttermilk. If you're using pearlash then buttermilk will be necessary to activate it).
• egg
• fire
• pot to hold cooking oil
• cooking oil 
• towel or cheesecloth to drain beignets on after cooking
• long-handled slotted spoon

Recipe

Fran's French Beignets

1 1/3 cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder (substitute pearlash if keeping it authentic)

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup milk (if using pearlash, use buttermilk)

1 egg, well beaten

Sift together all the dry ingredients. Add milk and egg gradually to dry ingredients. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to ½” thick. Cut dough into 2” x 3” strips and fry into hot oil for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove beignets from oil and drain on a towel. Roll in cinnamon and sugar or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

My dough is mixed and rolled out. Cut dough into strips then into 2"x3" pieces.

One batch cut and ready to go into the hot oil for frying.

Cook the beignets in the hot oil for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. You may want to turn them over to be sure they cook evenly. Use your long-handled slotted spoon to turn them over.

Remove the beignets from the oil and let them drain on a towel or cheesecloth. Once they've drained a little bit, sprinkle them with powdered sugar or rolled them in cinnamon and sugar. I usually do cinnamon and sugar.

This photo show only a few finished beignets because our site docents descended upon the kitchen and ate most of them before I could get a good shot. They are pretty tasty.

                                       Bon Appetit!

Fran Colbert and I in Old Fort Madison's kitchen, c 1992.

This post is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Fran Colbert. She taught me how to make this recipe many, many years ago at Old Fort Madison. Through her research, she made cooking demonstrations fun and entertaining for everyone. She spent numerous hours in OFM's kitchen, as well as her own, researching and testing historic recipes.