December 8, 2011

Pumpkin Bourbon French Beignets

A friend recently sent me a hush-hush recipe for Gingerbread Beignets from Disneyland. They sounded so phenomenal, I had to try them. HAD to. But you see, the recipe wasn’t really ready yet. It was strange. Missing a few parts. Incomplete.

It was a big fat fail.

But I couldn’t tolerate NOT making beignets after that. It’s like I’d been brainwashed by beignets.

beignets3

That’s it, brainwashed.

I couldn’t find a recipe I liked. Not anywhere. No one had the Gingerbread Beignet recipe. That Disney version was practically in a bank vault. I even emailed the Disney Chef who created it, begging for clarification. THAT’S how bad I had to have it.

But I couldn’t wait.

Two days after my Disney fail, with no response from the Chef, I created these. Pumpkin Bourbon French Beignets. Nothing like the Gingerbread Beignets from Disney, which are leavened with yeast. These beignets are French style, meaning, egg leavened. it’s basically a choux dough, deep fried and then rolled in lots of sugar, then dipped in an Eggnog Crème Anglaise.

Delicious.

For what it’s worth, that chef from Disney? Today she DID email me back.., with a modified recipe. I fully intend to share it once I’ve made it. So hang tight! Until then – try these. I think you’ll enjoy them!

beignets1

Pumpkin Bourbon French Beignets

Rating: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 20 beignets

Ingredients

1/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
pinch cloves
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
3 large eggs
Oil for frying
powdered sugar, for dipping

Instructions

Combine pumpkin, bourbon, spices, salt, sugar, molasses, water and butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat, add all flour at once. Return to heat and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low for 3 minutes to cool. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Dough may seem slightly sticky.
On a well floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Add more flour as needed if very tacky. Cut into 3×3 squares.
Bring oil to 300-320. When oil reaches temperature, drop 2-3 beignets in the hot oil. Fry for 3 minutes, then flip and fry for 3 more. Remove with slotted spoon and place immediately in powdered sugar and coat.
Serve with Eggnog Creme Anglaise.

Eggnog Creme Anglaise

Ingredients

1 cup eggnog
1/4 cup cream
2 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Combine eggnog and ream in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until very hot. Do NOT boil..
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, combine sugar and egg yolks. Beat until fluffy.
Slowly add hot eggnog mixture while beating at medium-low speed to temper the eggs.
Transfer mixture back to saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about10 minutes. Do not simmer or the egg yolks will curdle.
Remove the sauce from heat, whisk, and strain through a fine sieve. Stir in nutmeg and cinnamon. (Recipe adapted slightly from Disneyland Chef.)

The Giveaway

Do you love aprons? I have an infatuation with them. Typically, I force my mom to sew them for me…she’s so good at it. She and I will buy a ton of cute fabric, then I go play on the computer and she sews at knifepoint.

No, not really. I use a pretend knife.

I haven’t made her my apron slave in quite some time, as I have an abundance of great aprons. I tend to get at least one new one at every conference I attend, as well as in the mail from companies I work with. How many do I have? I couldn’t count. At least 20. But yet I find myself drawn to the apron aisle no matter what store I venture in to.

When I was approached by Pink Butterfly Aprons to do a review, I was of course excited.

A free apron? Bring it on! But, it wasn’t until I actually got it in the mail that I really got excited. Made in the USA, small, Oregon based company, attention to detail, reasonably priced and cute as can be! I was sent this one, called Candida. Is it a bit fussier than I am? Yes, yes it is. But once I took the little pinned on pink ribbons off, all was right with the world. Super cute!

There are so many good looking aprons on the Pink Butterfly site, from the Candida, to Mommy & Me matching aprons, to even men’s aprons. Any of them would make a wonderful gift!

Speaking of gifts, I’d like to give one to YOU.

Just scoot over to the Pink Butterfly site and pick out your favorite. Which one do you like? Let me know here, and you are entered to WIN one!
For another chance to win, follow Pink Butterfly on Twitter or on Facebook. Just be sure to come back here and let me know you did. That’s another chance to win!
For an additional opportunity, I’d love to have you follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook. I especially love my Facebook Fans, as I can easily answer your questions there, carry on a conversation, and just harass you in general. So come on over, say hi, and become a fan! I’d love to have you! That alone will garner you an additional entry, as long as you return to this post to leave me a separate comment.

Three comments per person, max. All other comments will be deleted.

Prize is courtesy of and is shipped by Pink Butterfly Aprons. MSRP average $37. US addresses only, please, sorry internationals. Contest is open until December 12, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Good Luck!

The BIG DEAL

See that 7 Quart KitchenAid? I know you want it. I certainly can’t blame you. So, to keep it fun and interesting, I’m giving you LOTS of extra opportunities to win it. For every giveaway you enter during my 25 Days of Doughmesstic Christmas, if you’ll go comment on THIS POST (Click thru!) saying “I entered to win the …” (you know, whatever you entered to win), you’ll get a BONUS entry to win the mixer. That’s 24 additional chances to win that bad boy. So scoot! Go enter to win today’s giveaway, and then visit THIS POST to comment for your bonus entries on the mixer.