Art From the Heart: "Man Catching Beignets!"

Ok, so I decided that desserts can be crafts too! I mean seriously! Food is an art form. I love the movie "The Princess and the Frog." One of my favorite lines is when Lottie says, "I'm gonna need about five hundred of your man-catching beignets for my ball tonight." It's the way she said "man catching beignets" I love quoting it... so I decided that I was going to make beignets! So, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!

I used Paula Dean's recipe on food network:

Here's what we'll need:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture with the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. (I just kneaded this in our Bosch). Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F. (I used a few inched of oil in a small pan. It worked just fine)

Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. (Make them as big or small as you want, but remember, They will puff up once you start the deep frying).