Decadent Eggless Egg Nog Beignets from Lee Khatchadourian-Reese

Our friend, Lee Khatchadourian-Reese, has been cooking up some of the most amazing dishes you’ll find anywhere. Lately, she’s started baking incredible goodies, too—like this Povitica, an Eastern European Dessert Bread! The fact that all of her recipes are not only dairy-free, but also free of all animal-based ingredients, shows just how easy it is to enjoy eating deliciously (and even decadently!) on a plant-based diet. Lee is such a creative culinary artist, that her dishes even impress her “Mr. Meat and Potatoes” husband! More proof positive, that anyone can prepare and serve delicious vegan meals that will satisfy the most steadfast omnivore. Her recipe for Eggless Egg Nog Beignets is an example of how even vegans can enjoy decadent treats now and then. We’ll be indulging in quite a few of these French choux pastries over the next couple of months, and we hope you’ll enjoy making (and eating!) them, too. Meet our guest blogger, Lee Khatchadourian-Reese:

It is Vegan Awareness Month, and as such, I find myself reflecting on the vegan journey I embarked on just over two years ago. After spending much of my adult life as a vegetarian, I finally decided to “go all the way” and go vegan. It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only do I feel great, but I also feel a huge weight I did not even know I was carrying around has been lifted.

Sure, I get all the normal questions about where I get protein, how I can live without meat or dairy, and how I deal with such limited food choices. I guess it is all in how you look at it. To me, my choices seem only limited by my imagination in terms of what combinations of food I can come up with; in other words, limitless!

I have always been an avid and passionate cook. Once I really got into plant-based cooking and realized the breadth of amazing foods I could prepare, I wanted to share my creations with those looking for inspiration. Hence, my blog, The Vegan Version was born. In May of 2010 I did my first post and have not looked back! It has been such an amazing experience connecting with so many people interested in animal welfare and plant-based eating.

As a kid, I never cared for milk. In fact, I abhorred it. I was the kid who was often left at the dinner table long after the dishes were cleared with just her glass of milk; not allowed to get up until it was finished. As an adult, I used milk often in cooking, and when I decided to go vegan, experimented with non-dairy milks such as soy, rice, almond, and hemp. While these all have their place in a plant-based diet, I still was not 100% happy with the results. Then I discovered So Delicious products. Eureka! I had finally found the replacement to cow’s milk that not only tasted great but also behaved most like cow’s milk in cooking.

I have written in the past about how So Delicious was a total game changer for me in the kitchen. No longer did I avoid recipes that called for dairy milk. And the results—fantastic!

With the holidays approaching quickly, I am enjoying So Delicious Seasonal Holiday Beverages, particularly the Coconut Nog. We recently had these beignets for breakfast. While not exactly like the ones I had at Café Du Monde in New Orleans years ago, they were pretty darn good! I hope you enjoy them.

Eggless Egg Nog Beignets

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 ½ tsp dry active yeast
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour (or for a slightly less dense beignet, you can use 3 cups all purpose flour and omit the whole wheat flour)
2 Tbsp avocado oil (coconut oil, light olive oil, or canola oil will work, too)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Cinnamon sugar for dusting (optional)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (or more)
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat the So Delicious Nog until just simmering. Remove from the heat, add the maple syrup and dry yeast. Allow to sit for at least five minutes for the yeast to dissolve.

Pour the So Delicious Nog mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the flours, avocado oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Using your hands, form into a dough ball. Place a towel over the dough and allow to rest for half hour.

Heat about 1”-2” of oil until 360 degrees in a sauce pot. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut into rectangular shapes. Drop into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Do not place too many in the pot at once as they will expand in size.

Remove from the oil, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (if desired). Sprinkle liberally with confectioners’ sugar before serving.