Pumpkin spice beignets are a twist on the classic treat

Beignets are the popular little fried fritters in New Orleans that are a little like doughnuts and a little like funnel cake. If you love pumpkin, then you’ll love these beignets that have pumpkin in the dough and filling. And bonus: They are pumpkin shaped.

If you’ve never had a beignet, then you must try one immediately. To me they are part doughnut and part funnel cake. The dough is not overly sweet, but it is fried and then sprinkled — or in some cases, dumped — into lots of powdered sugar.

My hubby traveled to New Orleans recently and brought me back a box of beignet mix from the popular Café du Monde, which is famous for its beignets.

And although they are so yummy plain, I wanted to experiment with a little pumpkin flavor for the fall season, because we must pumpkin-up all things. To begin with, these beignets have pumpkin in the dough.

They are pumpkin shaped (I used a pumpkin cookie cutter!).

And as a surprise, pumpkin spice pudding is injected inside them.

Finally, they are generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Whatever you do, please don’t forget the powdered sugar!

Pumpkin spice pudding-filled pumpkin beignets recipe

Beignets are the famous little doughnuts sprinkled with lots and lots of powdered sugar and super popular in New Orleans. For a fall twist, I used pumpkin in the dough and filling, as well as shaped them like little pumpkins. You can skip cutting them into pumpkin shapes to save some time — they will still be just as delicious.

Yields 10-12

Prep time: 45 minutes I Cook time: 15 minutes l Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the beignets

• 2 cups beignet mix (found in many supermarkets or specialty food stores)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 7 ounces water
• Oil (such as canola), for deep-frying
• Powdered confectioners’ sugar

For the filling

• 1 box instant pumpkin spice pudding (you could also use vanilla pudding and add pumpkin spice flavoring)

Directions:

1. Make the beignet dough according to the directions on the box. (This one used 7 ounces of water added to 2 cups of the mix.)
2. Add the canned pumpkin to the dough.
3. Mix until the water and pumpkin are incorporated, but do not overmix.
4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut out pumpkins with a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter. Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.
5. Make the pudding according to the directions on the box. (This one used 1 box of pudding mix added to 2 cups of cold milk.)
6. In a pan, heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
7. Drop the dough into the hot oil, and cook for about 5 minutes, flipping over the sides when nicely golden brown and slightly puffy. If you are not making pumpkin shapes, then you can drop the dough by teaspoon mounds into the oil, and cook until golden brown.
8. Fill the beignets with 2 teaspoons of pudding. To fill, use a medicine syringe or a piping bag with an icing tip inserted into the bottoms of the beignets. As another option, cut the beignets into halves, and add the pudding between the layers.
9. Immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.

More pumpkin treats

How to make pumpkin pie inside of a pumpkin
Homemade pumpkin Twinkies
Roasted pumpkin quinoa bowl