The best beignets recipe tastes just like the ones from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Warm and fluffy donuts are covered with powdered sugar and served with coffee for a delicious treat.
Place the water, salt, eggs and evaporated milk in a stand mixer and mix together using a dough hook.
In a separate bowl stir together the flour and yeast.
Add 3 cups of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until blended. Add the shortening and beat until blended well. Add the remaining flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is coming together and starting to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 2 hours.
Heat the oil to 350° using a candy thermometer to measure temperature.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough on a floured surface, into a large rectangular shape. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into 2" x 3" rectangles.
Drop the rectangles into the oil, 2-3 at a time, and let them fry on each side until they turn light brown, this only takes about a minute. Keep an eye on them or they will over cook.
Take them out of the fryer and place them into a brown paper bag. Shake the bag to coat the beignets. Add more powdered sugar to the bag as needed. (If you don't have a paper bag, dust with powdered sugar.) Serve them warm.
Notes
Store cooked beignets at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 2 days.