Salted Chamomile Honey Beignet Bites
Salted Chamomile Honey Beignet Bites
Beignets are to New Orleans as croissants are to France. You can't really visit either place without trying their signature desserts. While these beignets are by no means authentic, they are seriously delicious and interesting with the combination of chamomile and raspberry.
Classic beignets (ben-YAYS) are plain and simple, yet still technical, and made with a signature French choux (shoo) dough. Choux dough is made of butter, water, flour, and eggs, and typically does not include a rising agent like yeast. Pastries that use this moist dough generally are deep-fried, and the high temperatures of the frying oil create the steam that makes the dough rise. In the interest of time, we're going to use baking soda and baking powder to help our beignets rise. We'll also be glazing our beignet bites with a salted chamomile syrup and topping them with Raspberry Ripple Drizzle.
New Orleans is a place that buzzes with culture, music, and life, and local people are really into their food. Though beignets were originally French, it's safe to say that New Orleans is the place that made them famous, due to French settlers who introduced the pastry to Louisiana in the 18th century. To that, we say "Merci" or "Thank you" in French!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- fry :
to cook in a pan in a small amount of fat.
- glaze :
To coat a food, like cupcakes, donuts, or ham, with a layer of a liquid and a sweetener to add flavor and a pleasing appearance.
- measure :
to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).
- simmer :
to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.
- wet vs dry :
to mix wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them: dry ingredients are flours, leavening agents, salt, and spices; wet ingredients are those that dissolve or can be dissolved (sugar, eggs, butter, oils, honey, vanilla, milk, and juices).
- whisk :
to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.
Equipment Checklist
- Medium saucepan
- Large sauté pan
- Medium mixing bowl
- Large mixing bowl
- Liquid measuring cup
- Dry measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
- Slotted spoon
- Plate
- Paper towels
Ingredients
Salted Chamomile Honey Beignet Bites
- Chamomile syrup:
- 1 C water
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 chamomile tea bags
- Beignet bites:
- 1 1/3 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub 1 1/3 C gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour)**
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 C honey
- 2 T very soft butter **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub 2 T dairy-free/nut-free butter)**
- 2 T vegetable oil ** + more for pan
- 1/4 C granulated sugar
- 1 large egg **(for EGG ALLERGY sub 1 very ripe banana)**
- 1/2 C milk **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub 1/2 C dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
Food Allergen Substitutions
Salted Chamomile Honey Beignet Bites
- Gluten/Wheat: For 1 1/3 C all-purpose flour, substitute 1 1/3 C gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour.
- Dairy: For 2 T very soft butter, substitute 2 T dairy-free/nut-free butter. For 1/2 C milk, substitute 1/2 C dairy-free/nut-free milk.
- Soy: Substitute canola oil or other nut-free high-smoking point oil (can heat to a higher temperature without smoking) for vegetable oil.
- Egg: For 1 large egg, substitute 1 very ripe banana.
Instructions
Salted Chamomile Honey Beignet Bites
combine + simmer
First, make the chamomile syrup! To a medium saucepan, add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add 2 chamomile tea bags to the pan. Allow the tea to steep while the beignet bites cook. Remove the tea bags and set aside to drizzle over the fried beignet bites. (Reserve 2 tablespoons of the syrup for Raspberry Chamomile Fizz if making.)
measure + whisk
Next, make the beignet dough! In a medium mixing bowl, measure and whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
measure + whisk
In a large mixing bowl, measure and whisk together 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons very soft butter, and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Crack and whisk 1 egg and add to the bowl, then whisk again. Add 1 cup of milk and whisk to combine all the ingredients together.
combine + stir
Add the dry ingredients 1/4 cup at a time to the wet ingredients. Stir until it becomes too stiff to stir with a wooden spoon.
frying safety
Make sure always to have your skillet lid nearby. Smoke and splatter are hazardous and need to be treated with care. As soon as you finish using the fryer oil, remove the skillet from the heat to ensure it cools as quickly as possible.
heat + fry
Heat a large sauté pan with enough vegetable oil to come up halfway to the top of the pan, about 2 inches high in order to fry the beignets. Once the oil begins to shimmer or ripple, carefully and gently use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the beignet dough into the hot oil. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes total, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and let them rest on a plate lined with paper towels. Fry in batches, about 4 beignets at a time, until all are cooked.
scrumptious science
Frying is a cooking method that relies on the principles of heat transfer and chemical reactions to cook food. When food is submerged in hot oil, the high temperature causes water to evaporate rapidly, creating steam and forming a crust. This process and the Maillard reaction (a chemical process that occurs when food is heated, causing browning and development of complex flavors) contribute to the characteristic crispiness and flavor of fried foods.
glaze + drizzle
Drizzle the Honey Beignet Bites with the salted chamomile syrup as a glaze and top with Raspberry Ripple Drizzle.
If you don't use yeast or eggs to make a baked good rise, you must use a chemical leavening agent. For this purpose, you can use either baking soda, baking powder, or a combination of both. Adding them to baked goods before baking produces carbon dioxide, a gas, causing them to "rise."
Baking soda contains only one ingredient: sodium bicarbonate. It begins to act as soon as it touches an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar. Baking powder, however, doesn't fully activate until the dough is heated.
Baking powder includes baking soda, cream of tartar (an acid), and a starch, like cornstarch. The starch prevents the bicarbonate and acid from prematurely reacting. Baking powder comes in two forms: single-acting and double-acting. Single-acting activates with moisture, so you need to bake the dough right after mixing. Double-acting works in two stages. Some gas releases before baking when the powder is added to the damp dough, but most releases while the dough is heated during baking.
What is a Beignet?
- The French word "beignet" (ben-YAY) means "doughnut" or "fritter" in English. Beignets are pillowy squares of fried dough that are dusted or covered with powdered sugar.
- Beignets are traditionally made using "choux" (shoe) dough, which consists of water, milk, sugar, salt, flour, and eggs. The choux dough is rolled out, cut into squares, and deep-fried until they are golden and puffed up.
- The beignet is a New Orleans classic, introduced to Louisiana by Acadians, a French ethnic group who had settled in what is now Canada's Maritime provinces in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many Acadians moved to Louisiana in the 1700s.
- In 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.
- Tourists visiting New Orleans often stop by the legendary Café du Monde, which started as a coffee stand in 1862 in the French Market. Only coffee and beignets are on the menu.
Let's Learn About New Orleans!
- New Orleans is a city-parish in Louisiana and is the state's most populous city.
- France built New Orleans before Louisiana became a US territory in 1803 when then-President Thomas Jefferson purchased it from France. Guess how much he paid for it? Only 15 million dollars!
- French settlers used the term "Creole" to distinguish people born in Louisiana from those born in countries like Spain and France, from which many early inhabitants came.
- New Orleans English is a version of American English native to the city. There are several varieties, including Cajun English (influenced by Louisiana French), African-American Vernacular English (spoken by many black residents), a variety spoken by affluent whites, and one spoken by working-class residents, also referred to as the "Yat" accent or sub-dialect for the greeting "Where y'at?" (for "How are you?").
- In 1796, in New Orleans, the first opera was performed in the US.
- Jazz music was born in New Orleans! Experts can't decide if it appeared in the late 19th century or the early 20th century, but they know it quickly gained popularity throughout the world.
- The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest bridge over a body of water worldwide, is located in New Orleans!
- Creole cuisine comes from New Orleans—famous dishes are jambalaya, gumbo, étouffée, and King Cake! It's a tradition for Mardi Gras partygoers to eat King Cake, baked with a small plastic baby inside. The person who has the slice with the baby is expected to host the party the following year.
Lettuce Joke Around
"Why did you think you were going to be eating something disguised?"
"Because they were serving a camo meal (chamomile)!"
THYME for a Laugh
Why do bees have sticky hair?
Because they use a honeycomb!
THYME for a Laugh
Why did Ben shout "Yay!"
Because he was served beignets with his coffee!
