Beignet: The New Orleans Treat!

Of all the New Orleans/Louisiana/Cajun/Creole/French dishes that are out there, I have to say that I'm very partial to the Beignet (pronounced Ben-Yay). Even though I do my best to avoid pasteries in my everyday life, I tend to be the type that makes exceptions while I'm on vacation (afterall, what are vacations for if not for splurging a little?), and I made plenty of exceptions for my sweet, lovely beignets while in New Orleans last weekend!

What Is A Beignet?

A beignet is, simply put, fried dough with powdered sugar toping. Sounds delicious, right?

You're probably thinking that a beignet is just a fancy name for a doughnut, and you wouldn't be too far off. Beignet, for those not fluent in The French, quite literally means fried dough, and according to Wikipedia, the word can refer to quite a few different (but similar) pastries in France and other parts of Europe. For our purposes here in the states, we know only of the famous New Orleans style beignets.

Beignets are made with a slightly sweetened dough which is made to rise ever so slighlty as to be puffy, then deep fried. Many times they are served in little triangular shapes or even crescent shaped, and they are topped with what any sane person would consider an obese amount of powdered sugar. They are most often served for breakfast, but can also serve as appetizers, and sipping on a cup of café au lait is practically required while snacking on these pastries. For a simple dish, they are absolutely magical!

Where To Get Them

Now if you go to New Orleans, you will likely be told to go to Café du Monde. And you should. Once. It's a staple of the city and it's pretty well known for this delicious doughy treats. It's also been coporatized and turned into a machine. In itself, that's not a bad thing, and the beignets are good and the café au lait is strong and tasty. You'll love the beignets and you'll be tempted to go back for treats the next morning. But please don't.

Instead, make the trip into the French Quarter (like you're not there already…) and go to Café Beignet on Royal Street. Not only is the café more… café-esque, being small and quaint and full of friendly staff, the beignets and café au lait is vastly superior to Café du Monde. The beignets are made fresh to order and the mix is done in house. When we went, we got the perfect balance of warm, gooey, doughy center and crispy, flaky outside, all perfectly sweetened and just as covered in powdered sugar. Even the café au lait was better! Because of it's location, there may be a bit of a wait in the mornings, but I garauntee it's a shorter wait than at Café du Monde!

Further Tips

By now, I'm guessing you're already booking your trip to New Orleans or fervently searching the Internet for ways to have these wonderful treats shipped to your door. If you find that magical shipper, please let me know! I would not recommend getting the Beignet Mix you can find online though as it tends to be overpriced and just doesn't come out right.

My only other tip for you is to be VERY CAREFUL while you eat these delicous treats! They are caked in powdered sugar which isn't known for staying on the pastry. You will likely get some sugar all over you if you aren't careful. You may want to break common convention and eat over your plate or with a napkin under your chin. It may look odd, but your clothes will thank you!

So go out and book your tickets to New Orleans now and make sure to make time for a few beignets during your trip!