A yeast doughnut, cut into rectangles, which is deep fried and served piping hot. Beignets are served in New Orleans at Cafe du Monde in the French Market and at other locations. These are sweet beignets served covered with powdered sugar. Savory beignets are served in other parts of the South.
Beignets Beignets are square, raised yeast doughnuts, without holes. The word beignet (pronounced bey-NYAY) comes from the early Celtic word bigne meaning "to raise,” and “beignet” also means “fritter” in French. They are served topped with a generous serving of powdered sugar that usually coats the attire and faces of the diners. When one hears people in New Orleans say, "Goin' fo' coffee an' doughnuts," they mean coffee and beignets, and in 1986, the beignet became the Louisiana State Doughnut. The French brought the custom of making beignets to New Orleans. Some historians believe that the Ursuline Nuns, who arrived in Louisiana in 1727, brought this pastry tradition. According to the Picayune Creole Cookbook, The ancient French colonist brought the custom of serving sweet entrements and eatres, such as Beignets, Compotes, Soufflés, Gelées, etc., from the old mother country to Louisiana. The Creoles applied these to the various delightful and refreshing fruits, which abound in Louisiana. When the little Creole children, taking a peep into the kitchen, as children will do in every clime, saw that…the cook was going to make Apple Fritter, Orange Fritters or cook fried bananas for dinner, there was always some endearing term applied to the old Creole cuisiniére and she never failed to respond in the wholesome and practical way that the Creole cooks of those days did by handing a beautiful golden Beignet piled with snowy sugar, to the expectant little ones. . . . Beignets were most often enjoyed with café au lait and while they can be made at home, most locals eat them at the remaining coffee stands where they are seved: Café du Monde in the French Quarter and Morning Call in Metairie, LA.
The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.