Matcha Beignets

Is anyone else sluggishly crawling out of bed after the long and awkwardly disjointed weekend? Our July 4th was pretty low-key. We went over to a friend’s house to consume our obligatory hot dog and meet a new adorable puppy, which has a striking resemblance to a lamb. We promptly left before the fog got too chilly and got home with enough time to watch 4 episodes of Stranger Things. I’m going to let you in on a secret… we ordered Dominos for dinner that night and had no regrets! It brought back major 90s/early 00s pizza and movie nights at home nostalgia, minus the paper plates my mom only used for pizza night.

Friday and Saturday were technically work days for me. I was prepping for another private workshop and dinner, so I spent most of my time chopping vegetables to the beat of the Jonas Brothers and painting up some cute menus. After I finished plating the last dish for their dinner, I swiftly packed up my things and had Reuben take me to go get ice cream, which has become a new post workshop tradition! I love it. I got Jeni’s obviously. We ate said ice cream and finished watching the remainder of Stranger Things. SO MANY EMOTIONS.

Finally, Sunday felt like a real weekend for me. So what did we do? We drove to the suburbs! lolololol I’ve been in search of the perfect small size, not awful or too trendy looking bedside lamps, so we drove out to the suburban Home Goods and Target to see what was out there in the world. NOTHING. But we did find a brand spanking new Target that was bright and shiny and the aisles were wide enough for 3 carts to pass though. 3 CARTS WIDE, people!! We were ridiculously happy leaving that Target, despite failing to find a new unnecessary addition to our bedroom. I think it’s just a sign that we probably need to get out of the city more.

Sorry if that all sounded incredibly boring to you. BUT! I’m noticing a little pattern in my recount of this past weekend. And it’s that I think I’m a little basic. Is being considered basic still a relevant thing? Is it still an insult? Or are we all finally allowed to just be our normal Jonas Brothers-Dominmo’s Pizza-Vanilla Latte-Riverdale-Suburban Target loving selves?! I sure hope so because I’m not changing and the new Jonas' Brothers album is excellent. Have I mentioned the Jonas Brothers enough in one blog post?

Anyways! I was recently talking to someone who said Matcha is considered basic and played out… what?! People have literally been drinking matcha for a thousand years… and only became majorly popular in 2014/2015. So I don’t think it’s going anywhere. Maybe it’s because Green Tea Lattes are so readily available in every Starbucks and Trader Joe’s makes Matcha flavored everything that we feel an over saturation of matcha things. To be honest though, I’m all for it. I’ve loved matcha forever and I’m still going to love it, even if it makes me basic.

Okay, basic rant over! There isn’t actually any matcha in the beignet dough. The matcha powder is mixed into powdered sugar to make the easiest and prettiest flavored sugar! You could use the matcha powdered sugar on so many things! Brownies, donuts, pies, cakes, churros! Endless options! I used the matcha powdered sugar to top these pillowy soft beignets. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making beignets for the longest time because my Mom always brings them up whenever I’m home. “Maybe we should make beignets?”has been uttered so many times. I’ll have to finally make these with her when I’m home next month!

I briefly spent a few days in New Orleans many many years ago and remember how amazingly soft the beignets were and how you have to time your breathing with each bite. DON’T EXHALE MID BITE. I most likely had a cup of chicory coffee to sip on while enjoying them too! The recipe for these beignets are fairly traditional and based on this great Joy the Baker recipe. I halved the recipe because beignets are best eaten fresh and I didn’t want to temp myself with all that fried dough being so close to me. I also replace some of the flour with mochiko or glutinous rice flour! When I was testing the recipe, I had some mochiko flour sitting on the counter leftover from baking some mochi muffins and I was like, “why not?!” The result is a magically soft and fluffy dough with the most beautiful and slightly chewy texture. I was hooked. If you don’t have mochiko flour, don’t sweat it! You can just use 2 whole cups of all-purpose flour instead.

Gosh, just writing about these beignets make we wish I had a plate full of them and a warm matcha latte sitting next to me!

Thanks, Aiya Matcha for sponsoring this post!

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Matcha Beignets

makes about 18 beignets

beignet materials:

3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 
2 tbsp white sugar + 1 pinch
⅓ cup warm water
¼ cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
¼  teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup AP flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup mochiko flour
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl and deep-frying

matcha powdered sugar materials:

½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp Aiya Culinary Grade Matcha Powder

steps:

1. In the bowl of you your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add yeast, pinch of sugar, and warm water. Give it a quick stir and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, butter, salt, and 2 tbsp of sugar. Add the milk mixture to the yeast. Stir the yeast mixture on low speed while gradually adding the flour and mochiko flour. Increase speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Dough will still be a little sticky.

2. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Toss dough ball in the oil so that it is completely coated. Cover the dough in plastic wrap or a damp paper towel. Allow dough to rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Dough should double in size.

3. Heat 1”-2” of oil in a heavy bottom pot or cast iron skillet over medium heat. 

4. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Place dough on the surface and sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough so it doesn’t stick. Roll out the dough until it’s about ¼” thick. Cut into 2” square pieces.

5. Once the oil is hot, at 360 degrees or test heat with a scrap piece of dough, fry the beignets in batches. Fry on one side for 60-90 seconds, until golden brown. Flip and fry the other side for another 60 seconds. Transfer beignets onto a wire rack set on a baking tray and allow to cool slightly. Repeat with remaining dough.

6. Whisk/sift together powdered sugar and matcha powder. Dust the warm beignets with matcha powdered sugar and enjoy!