Baked Brown Butter Beignets with Orange Brown Butter Glaze
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Nothing can compare to soft baked Brown Butter Beignets topped with a sweet orange brown butter glaze. There’s big flavor in these bite-sized treats!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Red Star®
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Have you ever heard of beignets? They are bite-sized bits of fried dough and depending on where you get them, they’ll be made with either yeast dough or pâte à choux. They come with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top and taste much like a donut. But, after today, you may never want a traditional beignet because who could say no to a baked beignet flavored with sweet, nutty browned butter?
I don’t think I need to tell you now much I love working with yeast dough. It’s one of my favorite ways to make bread or rolls. There’s no comparison to light fluffy yeast bread!
Making Brown Butter Beignets
The dough is made with very simple ingredients. It’s your typical bread dough but instead of using regular butter, I’ve added browned butter and vanilla paste for a sweet aromatic flavor. I also use bread flour just like with all my bread recipes. You need a gluten dense flour so the beignets will have a chewy elastic crumb.
The dough needs to rise twice. Once, right after you have formed the dough. This first rise usually takes about 2 hours. Then, once you shape the dough into little beignets, it needs to rise a second time. The second rise should only take about 45 minutes. Allowing the dough to rise twice gives it time to develop gluten and flavor. Both of which are a must when it comes to good homemade bread!
Since this is a baked version, there is no need to pull out a heavy pan for frying or worry about cleaning up oil splatters. And I think baking the beignets makes them just a tiny bit better for you, right?
Bake them until they are golden brown then drizzle them with orange brown butter glaze. I like to glaze the beignets while they are still warm. The glaze will melt down the sides leaving a thin layer of sweet citrus flavor all over the surface. It’s simply delightful!
These baked brown butter beignets are a must! You won’t regret it if you stop what you are doing and go make them, now!
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Baked Brown Butter Beignets with Orange Brown Butter Glaze
Ingredients
For the beignets
- ½ tablespoon (113 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (180 ml) warm water, 110-115°F
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 envelope active dry yeast, 2 and ¼ teaspoons
- 3 ½ cups (470 g) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla paste
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
For the glaze
- brown butter, reserved from beignets
- 2 cups (240 g) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, about 1 large orange
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, about 2 large oranges
Instructions
Make the beignets
- Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts, whisk it frequently. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the butter turns a light amber color and has a nutty aroma. Watch it closely, it can go from brown to burnt rather quickly.
- Remove from heat, transfer 3 tablespoons to a small glass bowl then transfer the remaining brown butter to a second small glass bowl. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is dissolved and foamy.
- In a large bowl, add the flour and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, add the egg, vanilla paste, ½ cup milk, and the 3 tablespoons of cooled browned butter. Whisk to combine and add to the flour mixture. Add the yeast mixture and stir with a silicone spatula until a soft, sticky dough forms. (The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl but feel tacky with touched lightly with your finger.)
- With well-floured hands, shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oil bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and roll it into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or pastry wheel to slice the dough into 1 ½ inch thick square. Place the squares 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a lint free towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush the tops of each square with remaining 2 tablespoons milk and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. While the beignets are still warm, drizzle the tops with the orange brown butter glaze.
Make the glaze
- If the remaining brown butter has begun to solidify, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the brown butter, confectioner’s sugar, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
Re: step 6. You say to cut the drought into 1 1/2″ Thick squares but the dough is rolled out to 1/4″ thick. Do you mean 1 1/2″ squares? Should the word thick be omitted?
They should be cut into squares that are 1 and 1/2 inches wide.
Butter is measured in both teaspoons and tablespoons..misprint? Seems like tablespoons is more appropriate.
Good catch! It should be tablespoons. I’ve corrected the recipe.
Question : the recipe states 1 tsp envelope of the yeast and then there is a 2 1/4 after it.. can you clarify how much yeast I should use? Thank you
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. We switched recipe formats not too long ago and some of the ingredients didn’t import properly. It should be 1 envelope of yeast which equals roughly 2 and 1/4 teaspoons.
Question : the recipe states 1 tsp envelope of the yeast and then there is a 2 1/4 after it.. can you clarify how much yeast I should use? Thank you
I’d like to try making these but I have never heard of vanilla paste. Could you please explain what this is. Thank you
Cindy
Never had beignets, but really want to try these! They look so soft and delicious!
They are so good! We ate WAY too many!
wow, they look so soft and pillowy Jen! Now if they will magically pop into my mouth, it would be awesome!
Thanks, Manali! We were quite pleased with how they turned out!
Is it crazy that I’ve never had a beignet? There’s no doubt in my mind that I would love them, though. Especially with that glaze!!! Mmmmm….
Not crazy at all! But, you are missing out on some deliciousness!
I’ve actually only had beignets a few times before, but I do remember the texture and delicious flavor. I love that you made your own, Jen! You make the best yeast recipes, something I definitely need to work on! 🙂 I love the browned butter in here, too…sounds perfect!
Thanks, Gayle! Hubster loved these so much. That’s when I know I really have a keeper recipe. 😉