Overnight Gingerbread Beignets
Overnight Gingerbread Beignets. Homemade beignets are always impressive, but we’ve put a spin on the southern classic and now, we’re turning the normal fried puffs of dough into a beautiful Christmas spiced treat! Made using simple spices, ingredients, and then placed in the fridge overnight to develop the most amazing flavors. The next morning, you get to cut them into the cutest gingerbread men shapes, fry them, and then finish each beignet with a spiced sugar. Seriously, they are SO GOOD. Serve with a homemade chocolate sauce or caramel sauce for dipping to give them a little extra special layer of flavor. Perfect for breakfast on Christmas morning or just as a weekend morning treat!
→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Gingerbread Beignets
About The Recipe
There is nothing that I love more than gingerbread spice during the winter season! It’s one of my favorite flavors. There’s just something about it that makes me feel all warm and cozy.
Oh, and the added comfort of combining those delicious spices with a beignet? Count me in!
But, it definitely wasn’t that simple. Some recipes are pretty easy to develop, test, make, and shoot…then there are some that are just not. This happened to be the latter.
These beignets gave us the most trouble we have ever had trying to develop a recipe!
For some reason, we could never quite get anything right.
The first batch puffed up beautifully, but had no flavor. Like, at all. I mean, it was sweet! But no gingerbread flavor.
The second batch didn’t rise at all, but had some promising flavor. It was just missing something. We decided on the third batch to try added a touch of orange zest…blah!
The third batch of beignets were flatter than the second, but on top of that, tasted medicinal. We learned our lesson. NO orange zest!
The fourth batch still didn’t rise like we wanted them to, but the flavor was spot on.
So, now it was time to troubleshoot. After a bit of experimenting, changing ingredients, changing proportions, and checking to make sure our yeast was still alive…we were finally ready to try again.
And let me tell you, fifth times a charm! These beignets are finally perfect.
Light and fluffy, spicy without the bitter, perfectly sweetened, and just so. good.
I am a sucker for a classic beignet, but I think these have officially become a new favorite for the holidays!
Equipment Needed
- A Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Dough Rising Bucket/Large Container
- Rolling Pin
- Gingerbread Cookie Cutter
- Deep Cast Iron Pan
- Stainless Steel Strainer
- Sieve
Ingredients
For Beignets:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Yeast
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Cloves
- Butter
- Sugar
- Boiling Water
- Molasses
- Evaporated Milk
- Egg
For The Spiced Sugar:
- Powdered Sugar
- Gingerbread Spice
Instructions
In the mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, yeast, and spices, Stir until combined.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Pour the boiling water over and whisk until the butter is completely melted.
Stir in the molasses.
Stir in the evaporated milk. Let cool for 3-5 minutes.
After mixture has cooled, beat in the egg.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Increase the speed to about medium and mix until the dough is smooth. About 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough into a greased container. The dough is very sticky! Place in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, roll out the beignet dough to about 1/4 inch thick on a heavily floured surface. Cut into shapes. Re-roll the dough as necessary.
Place the cut out beignets in pre-heated oil and fry. No more than two at a time! Once they float, flip them over. Brown each side slightly before removing from the oil.
Drain on paper towels.
Whisk together the gingerbread spice and powdered sugar. Sift over beignets and serve!
What To Serve With Gingerbread Beignets…
I’ll be honest, I love these beignets just as much for breakfast as I do for dessert! They are a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday’s. If you need a few ideas on what to serve with them, here are a few ideas!
- Caramel Sauce, for dipping
- Chocolate Sauce, for dipping
- Chantilly Cream
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Hot Chocolate
Expert Tips
- Check your yeast! Make sure it’s not expired.
- You don’t have to cut the dough out like gingerbread men. You can easily do whatever shape you would like or just traditional squares!
- Brush away excess flour before frying. You don’t want it to burn in the oil!
- This recipe does not keep.
When you make these Overnight Gingerbread Beignets, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Overnight Gingerbread Beignets
Ingredients
Beignets
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons SAF gold instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ½ cup molasses
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 egg
- Vegetable oil,, for frying
Spiced Sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine butter and sugar.
- Pour boiling water over the top of the butter and sugar mixture and stir until butter dissolves.
- Mix in molasses.
- Stir in evaporated milk and set aside to cool.
- While mixture is cooling, combine flour, yeast, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in the bowl of an electric mixer,
- When milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, beat in egg.
- Pour over flour mixture and knead until dough is smooth, about 4-5 minutes.
- Place dough in a covered container that has been sprayed with cooking spray and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, combine powdered sugar and gingerbread spice. Set aside.
- Pour 2-3 inches of oil in a Dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet, and heat oil to 360 degrees.
- While oil is heating, roll out dough to 1/4" on a floured surface.
- Cut out shapes, brushing off excess flour and re-rolling scraps as necessary.
- Place beignets in hot oil, not more than 2 or 3 at a time.
- When beignets float to top, turn over and brown on other side, 1-2 minutes.
- Drain thoroughly and coat with spiced powdered sugar mixture.
- Serve immediately.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.