Key Lime Cheesecake

Here's another cheesecake recipe for ya!  This is actually my favorite cheesecake.  It is so refreshing and creamy.  Mmmmmm, I'm starting to drool on the computer a bit!  It is best served with fresh whipped cream, not cool whip.  But if you want a short cut, cool whip is fine.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbs. butter, melted
1 Tbs. sugar
24 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup lime juice
3 eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and 1 Tbs. sugar in a bowl. Stir with a fork, without mixing too much - keep it crumbly. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and half way up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Then, place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. In large bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Add the lime juice and eggs and continue to beat till smooth and creamy. Once ready, pour filling into crust.
5. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until room temperature. Place in refrigerator, covered with saran wrap, to chill overnight.
6. Once chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

New York Style Cheesecake

My hubby turns 32 in a month.  His favorite dessert is cheesecake, and so I'll be making this for him.  I've made a lot of different types of cheesecakes over the years, but a good old, plain cheesecake just cannot be beat. 

New York Style Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
dash of salt

Filling:
5 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup sour cream
2 Tbs. flour
3 eggs

Directions:
1. To make crust, cream together  butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Add egg and mix well.  Add flour and stir well to combine. 
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, then press half the dough onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until edge begins to turn light brown.  Cool.
3. When the pan has cooled, take remaining dough and press it around the inside edge of the pan.  Leave about a 1/2 inch margin from the top of the pan, don't press dough all the way to the top.
4. Increase heat to 500 degrees.  For filling, cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.  Mix in sour cream and flour.  Add the eggs and mix on slow speed until combined. 
5. Pour filling into the pan and bake (at 500) for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is firm. 
6. Cover and cool in refrigerator overnight before serving.

Lemon Cheesecake

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I had a recipe for lemon cheesecake.  To be honest, it's been a while since I made this, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why?!  I had to go through my folders of recipes and notes to find this!  And trust me, this is being made this week to celebrate Spring!  Mmmmmm.

Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Filling:
4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon extract
Topping:
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 10-in. springform pan; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined. Add lemon juice and lemon extract; beat just until blended. Pour into crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen and cool for 1 hour.  Place in refrigerator overnight.
4. Combine topping ingredients.  Spread over filling. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

It's Valentine's Day this Sunday, and what better way to celebrate than with Red Velvet cupcakes.  Being a southern girl, red velvet has been a favorite of mine for a while.  And since we're watching the Opening Cermonies and the colors of Canada are Red and White, we're celebrating two ways.  These are very fattening yummy.  :)

Red Velvet Filled Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3.9 oz. chocolate instant pudding mix
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 oz. red food coloring
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup whipped topping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix in medium bowl. 
3. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy and fluffy.  Beat in eggs.  Mix in sour cream, milk, food coloring, and vanilla extract. 
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, on low speed only until blended.  Do NOT overbeat! 
5. Spoon batter into muffin tin/cups (2/3 full).  Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from pan and allow to cool completely. 
6. Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Fold in whipped topping.
7. Spoon frosting into small freezer-weight resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small corner off bottom of bag. Pipe frosting onto tops of cupcake in a swirl pattern.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Pumpkin Creme Caramel

I put in a special request this year for Christmas - custard cups/ramekins!  I honestly don't know why I don't have a single one in my kitchen cupboards.  I love creme brulee.  And once again, trying to find a recipe to use all the pumpkin I buy on clearance, here's a cross between pumpkin and creme custard.  I hope Santa is good to me this year!  :)

Pumpkin Creme Caramel

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups sugar

6 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cans (5 oz. each) evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
2 tsp. vanilla
Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degree F.

2. To caramelize sugar, melt the 1-1/3 cups sugar in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat, shaking the skillet occasionally. When the sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until sugar is golden brown. Remove skillet from heat; immediately pour the caramelized sugar into eight ungreased 6-ounce custard cups. Holding cups with pot holders, quickly tilt to evenly coat bottoms of cups.
3. Place cups in two 2-quart square baking dishes. Stir together eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, the 1/2 cup sugar, pumpkin pie spice, orange peel, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Pour the pumpkin mixture over caramelized sugar in cups. Place the baking dishes on the oven rack. Pour boiling water into the baking dishes around cups to a depth of 1 inch.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the centers comes out clean. Remove cups from water. Cool slightly on wire rack. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.
5. To serve, loosen edges of custards with a knife, slipping the point of a knife down the sides to let in air. Invert a dessert plate over each custard, turn cup and plate over together. Scrape the caramelized sugar that remains in cup onto the custard. If desired, garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Makes 8 servings.

Grilled Pineapple

Here is the recipe for the grilled pineapple we will be making. We'll have it for dessert with a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream. MMMMMM......

Coconut-Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients:
1 ripe golden pineapple
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.
2. Peel, slice, and core the pineapple. Shake the coconut milk well before opening the can. Pour it into a bowl. Put the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and stir with a fork or spoon to combine.
3. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Brush each pineapple slice on both sides with coconut milk, and sprinkle, also on both sides, with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Arrange the slices on the hot grate, and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side. If a crosshatch of grill marks is desired, rotate each slice 60 degrees after 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the pineapple slices to plates or a platter for serving.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

I got this recipe from a friend a while ago and just this past weekend tried it out. We're not cake fans here at our house, but this we DELISH! When you eat it warm, it tastes a lot like bread pudding, but better. We had it topped with whipped cream, but I think it would be just as good topped with ice cream. YUMMY!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg. devil's food chocolate cake mix
2 cups cold milk
1-1/4 cups water
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) chocolate instant pudding
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. Pour milk and water into large bowl. Add pudding mixes and sugar. Beat with whisk 2 min. or until blended. Pour over batter.
3. Place baking dish on baking sheet to catch any sauce that bubbles over sides of dish as dessert bakes. Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center of cake layer comes out clean. Cool 20 min. (Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools).

Easy Peach Cobbler

This recipe was so easy I loved it! Only 3 ingredients! And what's best, I think I can make this in my dutch oven when we go camping! Anyway, a great cobbler recipe. I think I'll try it next time with a bag of mixed berries. And of course, we served this with vanilla ice cream. The original recipe called for all of the cookie mix to be placed on top of the peaches, but I like my cobbler a little more soft and not so much crunch. So I layered mine.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:
1 bag (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Oatmeal Cookie mix
2 bags (5+ cups) frozen peaches
1/2 cup cold butter

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, place cookie mix. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
2. Place half of the peaches in ungreased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cookie mixture over peaches. Repeat with remaining peaches and mix.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or cool.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Chocolate Covered Popcorn

This has got to be, hands down, my favorite Christmas treat. I got a big bag of this from a couple of friends of mine this year, and I am so grateful that Jon doesn't like popcorn, so I get it all to myself! :)

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

Ingredients:
4 quarts popped corn
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Put popcorn in greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir in vanilla and salt. Pour over popcorn and stir.
3. Bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool on wax paper.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Beignets

I was planning on making this recipe on Christmas Eve for our Cajun Night Before Christmas, but when I found out how many people are coming, I had to alter my plans a bit. Still, this is a wonderful, southern delicacy. Okay, delicacy may be putting a little more emphasis on it than needs be, but they're still good. Growing up, whenever my family would go to New Orleans, we'd buy beignets and in the winter we'd get them with hot chocolate. Any day, I'd rather have a beignet than a doughnut.

French Market Beignets

Ingredients:
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (approx. 105°)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup shortening, softened
oil for deep frying
powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, beaten eggs, and evaporated milk. Whisk or use electric mixer to blend thoroughly. Add 4 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Add shortening; gradually blend in remaining flour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll out on floured board to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch squares. Deep fry at 360° for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Dough can be cut and frozen, separated in container with waxed paper.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Buche de Noel

uring high school, I was an exchange student in Challans, France. I took 5 years of French, and I because of all of this, I have a love for French culture. This next recipe is a French Christmas one. It's called Buche de Noel, or Yule Log. It is a flourless cake, rolled jelly style, that resembles a log. We made it each year in my French class, and it is so delicious!

Buche de Noel

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
6 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar
confectioners' sugar for dusting


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.
5. Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, cut a slice off of each end and place randomly off of each side of the cake , so it looks like a log with stubs. Refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. You can also make extra frosting to frost the outside of the buche, score it with a fork to make it look like bark, and then dust it with confectioners sugar to make it look like snow.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Caramel Dip

Okay, so I stole today's recipe from a scrapbooking blog I visit: Scrapbook Ideas. It's a recipe for caramel apple dip. Wish I had known about this sooner, I may have handed these out this year! Here's what Jess Gordon says:

"Here’s an idea I have been wanting to try ever since I saw it on Kayla's blog last year around this time: homemade caramel dip! I was amazed that you can make this great treat right in the can without ever even opening it :). You just remove the labels from some cans of sweetened condensed milk, put them into a deep pot, and completely cover them with water, then boil them for three hours (adding water when needed). The milk turns into a caramel-y type sauce - who knew?? But I learned after the fact that it can be dangerous because the cans will exploded if the water level drops below the tops of the cans! Good thing I remembered to keep adding water :)!!! Despite the risk, I will be making more of these - I tested some, and it is YUMMY!

Here’s a gift basket idea: Decorate cans of homemade caramel dip (I used printed papers from Chrstmas Heart), add some apples, candies and bags of nuts and you have a sweet gift to be enjoyed by all … I hope ;)!"

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Caramel Corn

This is another family favorite. Whenever we get together, my dad makes a big batch of caramel corn, and we go through it in a matter of a few days. Great munching item!

Caramel Corn

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn

Directions:
1. Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla.
3. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Chocolate Candy Cane Cake

I got this recipe from Kraft. It's sooooooooo delicious. I like to have candy canes in anything chocolate, especially my hot chocolate. So when I found this recipe, it just made sense.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) Chocolate Instant Pudding
4 eggs
1 container (8 oz.) Sour Cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
4 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
18 small candy canes, coarsely crushed (about 1 cup), divided
1 tub (8 oz. ) Whipped Topping, thawed


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
2. Beat first 6 ingredients in large bowl with mixer on low speed just until moistened, stopping frequently to scrape side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Stir in chopped chocolate and 2 Tbsp. crushed candy. Spoon into prepared pans.
3. Bake 35 to 40 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min.
4. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with spatula or knife. Invert cakes onto wire racks; carefully remove pans. Cool completely.
5. Fill and frost cake with Cool Whip. Sprinkle with remaining crushed candy just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Chex Muddy Buddies

Here's a great finger food for the holiday sweet tooth. I absolutely love these, so if you'd like to send some our way, I'd just love you to pieces! :)

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients:
3 cups Corn Chex cereal
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar


Directions:
1. Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll

I can never get enough pumpkin!  I don't just eat pumpkin pie during the holidays.  It makes me mad that they only offer spiced pumpkin creamer during the holidays.  And this recipe is one of my favorites.  My Aunt Karla would make it all the time, and I gobbled it up every time she made it.  And just as a side note, you can freeze it! 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll

Ingredients:
3 eggs

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 Tbs. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.

2. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased and waxed-paper lined 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan.
3. Bake at 350 ° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes. Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10- inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.
4. While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.
5. Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake (without the towel). Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Slice before serving. Keep leftover slices refrigerated.

Pani Po Po

This is a very tasty treat, similar to sticky rolls. It is served as a dessert in Samoa. This recipe makes one 9x13 pan of 12 rolls.

Pani Po Po

Ingredients:
Cat's Dinner Rolls
2 cans coconut milk
2 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Make dinner roll recipe. Allow to rise for 2 hours or until double in size.
2. Divide dough into 12 pieces and form into balls. Place rolls into 9x13 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double.
3. Before baking, mix together coconut milk and sugar. Whisk until mixed together. Pour over rolls.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Chocolate French Toast

I am up to experimenting with french toast again! This time, I tried chocolate. Oh, my goodness. It turned out great. We topped it with whipped topping and hazelnuts. It's not terribly rich, so you can handle having it for a meal (we even had it with scrambled eggs), but it's also great for a desert. Oh, chocolatey goodness!

Chocolate French Toast

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 loaf white bread (yes, I used the WHOLE loaf. But hey, you can always eat leftovers!)

Directions:
1. Preheat griddle to 350 degrees. In a blender, combine all ingredients except bread. Pour into a shallow dish.
2. Grease hot griddle with butter. Dip each slide of bread, covering both sides, in egg mixture. Place on hot griddle and cook each side 3-5 minutes or until toasted. Repeat with remaining bread slices until mixture is gone.

Strawberry Sensation

Okay, so Kraft is quickly becoming one of my favorite recipe websites. I tried this new recipe last night, and it is SO yummy. It's very easy and tastes just like homemade strawberry ice cream. I've altered it a little bit to what I did last night (because we LOVE strawberries and oreos).

Strawberry Sensation

2 16 oz. cartons strawberries, washed and stems cut off
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 8 oz. container cool whip
12 chocolate sandwich cookies
2 Tbs. butter, melted

1. Line 9x5 inch loaf pan with foil, leaving the ends of foil extended over sides of pan.
2. Put cookies into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Pour crumbs into bowl and set aside.
3. Put 1 carton of the strawberries into food processor and pulse two or three times to chop. Pour evaporated milk, lemon juice, and cool whip in with strawberries. Pulse enough just to mix together. Pour mixture into pan.
4. Pour melted butter in with the cookies and stir to combine. Spoon cookies evenly over strawberry mixture. Gently press cookies into strawberry mixture. Freeze at least 7 hours.
5. When ready to serve, invert over a serving plate. Remove pan and foil. Spread remaining cool whip over the top. Slice remaining strawberries over cool whip. Store leftovers in freezer.

Beignets, A Southern Classic

If any of you have ever been to the French Quarter in New Orleans, you might have eaten at the world famous Cafe du Monde. One of the greatest southern dishes is served here - beignets. To the casual tourist, these may seem like overated scones dipped in powdered sugar, but to the true southern connisseur, they are a delightful treat.Pronounced "ben-yay," it is a deep fried dough pastry, brought to America by the French. Not only are they served as a dessert, but they can also be a savory treat, often served with crawfish or shrimp. When eaten as a dessert, they are really good with hot chocolate or wassail in the winter. I have altered my recipe to be used in a breadmaker on the "dough" setting, but you could make it as a tradition dough recipe. Just know that my ingredients are in the order you would use in a breadmaker. When you get to the last step, it's really fun to let the kids shake the beignets in the ziploc bag. My little girl LOVED this! They are fun to eat, but just be careful not to inhale the powdered sugar!

Beignets

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbs. butter, room temperature

1 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

1 Tbs. sugar

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

Vegetable Oil, for frying

Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. Add the ingredients to your breadmaker in order listed (this uses a breadmaker with a capacity for 2 pounds). Set the breadmaker on the dough setting and leave. This should take about 90 minutes.

2. When the dough is ready, remove from breadmaker and roll out on a floured surface, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares.
3. Pour vegetable oil into deep saucepan, at least half way full. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Drop dough into hot oil and fry until light golden brown. Turn over and fry other side. Dough will puff up as it is frying. Each side should only take a few seconds if your oil is the right temperature.
4. While the beignets are warm, place them in a ziploc bag with powdered sugar, and shake bag to coat.