Slightly sweet, buttery, and with pure vanilla extract! These homemade gluten-free waffle cones are crunchy and capture everything you know and love about a freshly shaped waffle cone. From one bowl of batter, you can shape into waffle cones, bowls, or take two disks and make ice cream sandwiches.

With kids in the house, we are a little ice cream obsessed around here. We’ve been churning batch after batch of lemon custard, salted caramel, and this fresh ginger ice cream (pictured throughout).

These cones have been a long time coming!

You can find decent ice cream in the store. That said, the cones are another matter. It’s maddening trying to buy flavorful ice cream cones; I’ve been on the hunt for a waffle or sugar cone that isn’t stale right out of the box for a decade.

It doesn’t exist (or if it does, I haven’t found it).

Cones don’t keep.

It’s a good idea to have ice cream cone ingredients because that way, you can whip up a batch of fresh cones in 15 minutes. Your homemade cones will keep for up to 3 days if you can protect them from moisture.

Why Gluten-Free Cones?

You may be wondering what’s up with the gluten-free flour. My husband has a gluten sensitivity and my culinary training is actually in the specialty diet realm. Bottom line, a tested and perfected gluten-free cone recipe has a ton of value to my family (and hopefully, yours too).

If you’re getting into gluten-free baking, I’m really proud of these gluten-free fudgy brownies (dairy free, too) and for something savory, there’s these gluten-free mini pizzas and these sushi and sashimi bowls.

In case you are wondering, you can make these in a non-stick skillet, but I think it’s significantly easier to use a waffle iron to get the fun pattern like we did here.

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Gluten-Free Waffle Cones or Bowls

You can add additional water to the batter (towards the end) if it thickens too much. When shaping cones, the initial texture will be pliable when warm. As the shapes cool, the cones will harden into whatever their shape is, becoming increasingly crunchy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten free, waffle cones

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6 cones

Calories 128kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca "starch") may substitute arrowroot
• 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1 egg white at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk low-fat milk will also work
• coconut oil or butter for greasing the pan

Instructions

• Mix dry ingredients. In a bowl (preferably with a spout), whisk together the brown rice flour, tapioca, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar until incorporated.
• Form the batter. To the dry ingredient mixture, add the melted butter, vanilla, egg white, and 2 tablespoons milk. Whisk to form a smooth batter. Since you want the batter to remain pourable (but not too thin), you may need to continue to thin it out as it sits with milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Preheat a waffle iron (medium-low heat). Brush a waffle cone iron lightly with either coconut oil or butter. Pour or ladle approximately 3 tablespoons of batter at once. Close the lid and cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
• Remove and shape while warm. Using an offset spatula or a toothpick, carefully pry away the edges. Immediately roll into a cone shape being sure to keep the tip-end as small and tight as possible. You want to cinch the tip together while warm and hold in place for about 1-minute before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter and cones.

  Store cones in a non humid environment. They will stay crunchy for up to 3 days at room temperature in a sealed container or glass jar.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1cone | Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Photography by Adam Rahman

These are my “extra” brownies because they’re loaded with chocolate galore. 275 grams of dark chocolate to be exact. Can you imagine?

Just look at that crinkly golden hued top. This may be the only indicator that these brownies are, in fact, made from gluten-free flour (which doesn’t brown the way wheat flour does when baked).

Let Chocolate Be Thy Cure

It’s. Been. A. Week.

If you’re here, maybe you’ve had A week, too. These undetectably gluten-free, dairy free and sugar conscious brownies are just the cure to whatever ails your spirit. They offer a dopamine hit straight to that part of your brain that signals pleasure and reward. Treat yo-self.

For the sugar detectives of the world, of course there’s sugar (and lots of it) but I did replace half of the normal refined sugar portion found in not-sugar-conscious brownies. You will love the brown sugar-esque taste of the coconut sugar in this recipe. It’s rich and will remind you of caramel.

Healthified Brownie Ingredients

• Dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate: Look for dark chocolate (any percentage will work) that also contains sugar; if you only use “baker’s chocolate” you will be using 100% chocolate and your brownies won’t be sweet enough
• coconut oil, refined or unrefined; the primary fat in this brownie helps achieve a fudgy texture
• eggs: you will use 2 large eggs, plus add an extra egg yolk for a rich flavor
• pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste: this adds depth and dimension to chocolate desserts; I don’t recommend imitation vanilla even though it’s cheaper.
• evaporated cane sugar: this is the more process sugar (it replaces granulated white sugar)
• coconut sugar: a less refined sugar that has a rich flavor and is available in the baking aisle
• gluten-free flour (tested brands that work in this recipe: Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour, Namaste 1:1 Flour blend, or sorghum flour)
• flax meal (made from whole flax seeds): there are a lot of health benefits of flax. You can make your own flax meal by grinding whole brown or golden flax seeds in a spice grinder (aka a coffee grinder). Ground fresh flax seeds have a shelf life of about 3 weeks. This ingredient acts a bit like an egg and helps bind these brownies together.
• Kosher or sea salt: a brownie without salt is a sad thing, indeed. Salt enhances the flavor of chocolate like no other ingredient can.
• baking powder: the leavening agent; be sure your baking powder is fresh (within 1 year old)

Step-by-Step Brownie Recipe (plus some Tips)

Step 1: Preheat the oven and line the brownie pan. 

Grab an 8 by 8-inch aluminum or glass pan and line it with parchment paper (hanging over for easy lifting).

Step 2: Melt chocolate and combine with oil. 

Double Boiler Explained: If you’re unfamiliar, a double boiler is how you want to melt whole dark chocolate. You set a heat-proof bowl on top of a small pot (there’s about an inch of water in the pot). Set the heat to medium or bring to a simmer. Stir the chocolate with a spatula (holding the bowl with a kitchen towel to prevent burns). DO NOT let water get into your chocolate or it will seize.

Step 3: Beat egg mixture for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Make dry ingredient mixture.

Step 5: Combine chocolate mixture with egg mixture then add dry ingredient mixture. Also, add additional chopped chocolate. 

Step 6: Spread batter then bake in prepared pan.

Tool Tip: Use an offset spatula (an angled spatula) to smooth the top of the brownie batter before baking for an even height.

Allow your brownies to cool. Since these are fudgy brownies, we need to wait (up to 1 hour) to fully allow the center to set properly.

You’ll be grateful you used parchment paper which makes for easy lifting. Simply lift and cut into squares on a cutting board. At this point, the brownies should be served at room temperature for the best experience in taste and texture.

Variations and Serving Ideas:

This is where you get to customize your favorite mix-ins, add-ons and presentations. While I recommend sampling the original recipe first, some great additions to try are:

• Chopped walnuts (up to a quarter cup folded into the batter then baked)
• A quarter teaspoon of instant espresso powder
• Served with a dollop of whipped cream and Mexican cinnamon
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis
• Topped before baking with flaked sea salt
• Frosted with a buttercream, such as dulce de leche, peanut butter, coffee, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, or toasted marshmallow

If you’ve sampled these goodies, please let me know your exact gluten-free flour blend/brand. I’d love to feature your comment!

More Gluten-Free Recipes For You:

• Cold and Creamy Chocolate Coconut Ice Milk
• Creamy Carob Mousse (a no-cook, dairy free pudding)
• Go-To Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

*In response to our tester’s feedback, we increased the cook-time from 30 minutes to 38 minutes. Please note oven performance can vary.

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GLUTEN-FREE BROWNIES RECIPE

DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGETARIAN, NUT FREE

These modestly sweet brownies are fudgy and decadent, yet contain loads of wholesome ingredients for quality you can taste. Let me tell you about the premium ingredients: There's melted and chopped dark chocolate, high quality fats (egg yolk, coconut oil, and ground flax), even unrefined coconut sugar!

While you could mix these by hand, you should get out the stand mixer. Following the recommended mixing times and steps will ensure that these delicate brownies hold together and set properly.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brownies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 9 brownies

Calories 621kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Equipment

• 1 stand mixer
• 1 9-inch by 9-inch baking pan

Ingredients

• 2 cups (200 grams) dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
• 1 cup (225 grams) coconut oil, refined or unrefined
• 2 large whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• ¼ cup (43 grams) evaporated cane sugar
• 1 cup (182 grams) coconut sugar
• 1 cup approximately185 grams gluten-free flour (tested brands that work in this recipe: Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour, Namaste 1:1 Flour blend, or sorghum flour)
• 5 teaspoons (15 grams) flax meal (ground flax seeds)
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) Kosher or sea salt
• ½ teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
• ¾ cup (75 grams) dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

• Preheat the oven and line the brownie pan. Preheat the oven to 320F. Line an 8 by 8-inch pan with foil or parchment paper (hanging over for easy lifting) and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Melt chocolate and combine with oil. Melt chocolate over a double boiler, once melted remove from heat with kitchen glove and add coconut oil. Mix well.
• Beat egg mixture for 10 minutes. Combine eggs, yolk, vanilla, and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip 5 minutes on speed 2. Scrape the bowl and mix 5 more minutes on speed 2 or until doubled in volume.
• Make dry ingredient mixture. Sift gluten-free flour, flax meal, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.
• Combine chocolate mixture with egg mixture then add dry ingredient mixture. Also, add additional chopped chocolate. Switch stand mixer to the paddle attachment. Add melted chocolate to egg mixture and mix to combine. Add dry ingredient mixture. Mix until it just starts to come together. Add chopped chocolate and mix in.
• Spread batter then bake in prepared pan. Spread brownie batter evenly in prepared pan using an offset spatula. Bake for 19 minutes, rotate and bake an additional 19 minutes (so 38 minutes total). Note: Toothpick should NOT come out clean because these brownies contain so much chocolate. Cool then cut into squares (cleaning your offset spatula between cuts will help you get cleaner lines).

  Cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Notes

Coconut oil: If your coconut oil is solid, melt it before measuring to get the correct volume. Since there is so much chocolate and vanilla in this recipe, you can use either refined or unrefined coconut oil without a detectable coconut taste.

Ingredient Tip: Buy flax seeds whole. You can make your own flax meal by grinding whole flax seeds (gold or brown flax seeds work) into a powder using a coffee grinder. Store ground flax in the refrigerator and use it within 2 weeks. Whole flax seeds are quite shelf stable and will last for years before going rancid.

Flavor Variations: Try espresso (add ¼ teaspoon espresso powder to the batter); add ¼ teaspoon ground cassia bark or “Mexican cinnamon”

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownie | Calories: 621kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 37g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 406mg | Potassium: 380mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 197mg | Iron: 1mg

Photography by Adam Rahman

My lemon custard ice cream has received mixed reviews. Some say it’s perfect, others say the lemon is too intense. After recently trying a mellow lemon ice cream from a local ice cream shop, I’ve realized that some of my critics have a point. Mellow lemon in ice cream is really good, too.

With that in mind, I’m sharing a toned down lemon ice cream recipe with a twist. Olive oil!

Instead of relying on egg yolks as I do in the lemon custard recipe, this recipe uses the fat from olive oil to add richness (along with full fat dairy, of course). It may sound odd, but it’s really, really good.

I hope you’ll try it and tell me what you think!

You can enjoy the ice cream at home straight out of your ice cream machine as soft serve but I think it’s best if you freeze and scoop it, which takes an additional 8 hours. If you have popsicle molds, you can even make your own lemon ice cream pops!

Either way, you are in for a creamy, sweet treat with just a pop of acidity.

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Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream

Lemon and olive oil go hand in hand in pound cake, and it turns out, ice cream, too.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten free ice cream, ice cream, lemon

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Freeze Time 8 hours hours

Servings 8 people

Calories 336kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Equipment

• 1 ice cream machine

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest from 3 lemons
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice strained 3 to 4 lemons

Instructions

• Mix the heavy cream, milk, sugar, zest, salt and vanilla in a medium pot over the stove. Warm over medium-high heat until you see bubbles on the surface, approximately 9 minutes. Whisk occasionally. Remove from the heat as soon as you see it boil.
• Steadily and slowly pour the olive oil into the cream mixture, whisking constantly.
• Stir in the lemon juice. I highly recommend blending in a high speed blender for the most luscious texture and flavor. Cool the mixture in the fridge or use an ice bath to save time.
• Pour the chilled lemon mixture into the freezer bowl of a 1 1/2-quart electric ice cream maker, and proceed according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container; press a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly on the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Nutrition

Serving: 1scoop | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 89mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 705IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Floral, peppery cardamom paired with sweet, full fat dairy? What’s NOT to love? This homemade ice cream recipe is what home ice cream machines were made for. So grab your apron and let’s make cardamom ice cream from scratch!

For years I made a vegan version of a cardamom ice cream out of canned coconut milk and then I stumbled upon a full fat dairy version and lost my mind. Words won’t do justice to the combination of heavy cream and impeccably fresh and peppery tasting cardamom.

For those in-the-know, ice cream is one of the easiest desserts you can make from scratch. You need a good recipe and a solid machine, and the rest of the magic happens for you.

What I love about cardamom ice cream

It is truly a rare flavor you won’t find gracing the aisles of your grocery store’s freezer section. And it totally should be! It’s divine and everyone I know (with maybe the exception of my dad) loves the floral, peppery notes of cardamom dispersed throughout sweet creamy ice cream.

Which Cardamom To Use

You can steep cardamom pods in the milk (you’ll need about 12), but I actually have found that buying the whole cardamom seeds (so what lives in the green pods) works really well because you can grind them in a coffee grinder in 5 seconds.

*If you can only find ground cardamom in the spice aisle, that will work, too. It’s just likely to be slightly less intense than if you grind it yourself.

Cardamom Ice Cream Ingredients

• sugar of choice preferably evaporated cane sugar (we are making a simple syrup)
• cardamom, preferably freshly ground
• whole milk – fat is really key here
• egg yolks – the addition of eggs makes this ice cream extra rich in flavor, so it’s actually a frozen custard
• heavy cream – you can use either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (do not substitute for half and half)
• vanilla extract – just be sure to use real vanilla, none of that imitation sh*t
• sea salt – just a pinch will enhance the overall flavor of the ingredients

Equipment – What Ice Cream Machine Do You Have?

You will want to follow your manufacturer’s instructions. I think most home ice cream makers tell you to freeze your quart container overnight (minimum 24 hours) and then you pour the chilled liquid into the frozen bowl while it churns.

I’ve personally owned a Cuisinart 1-quart and it’s decent. I would recommend buying the 2-quart version. Only downside, you might want to stick your ice cream in the freezer for up to 4 hours after churning to get a scoop consistency.

More Ice Cream Recipes For You:

• How to Make Creamy Tropical Ice Cream with Coconut Milk
• Salted Caramel Ice Cream
• Lemon Custard Ice Cream

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Cardamom Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten free ice cream, ice cream

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 large scoops

Calories 391kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Equipment

• 1 ice cream machine

Ingredients

• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar of choice preferably evaporated cane sugar, divided
• ⅓ cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon cardamom freshly ground
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch sea salt

Instructions

• Combine ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar with the water in a small saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Add the cardamom and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the milk, bring to a boil then immediately remove from the heat. Set aside and allow the milk to steep for 15 minutes.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until the yolks turn pale yellow.
• Heat the cardamom-infused milk once again, on low heat until hot. Pour the hot milk in a steady stream into the beaten egg yolks, whisking the whole time to avoid any lumps or scrambling of the eggs. Pour the custard mix back into the saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring continuously for about 6 to 8 minutes, until the custard thickens to coat a spoon.
• Put a handful of ice cubes and a cup or two of water in a large bowl. Place a medium bowl in this ice bath. Remove the custard from the heat and strain it into the medium bowl. This cools the custard quickly.
• When the custard has cooled through, stir in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Pour into an ice-cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Most budget ice cream machines will produce a soft serve consistency. If you would like to be able to scoop your ice cream, I recommend pouring into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Top with parchment paper and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for 4 hours. At this point, the ice cream will harden and you can scoop.

Notes

Notes: For a dairy free version, replace heavy cream and whole milk with 1 can coconut milk.
For a low-glycemic option, replace the sugar and water with 6 tablespoons maple syrup along with 2 tablespoons rice syrup. Do NOT reduce the overall sugar called for or the ice cream will be overly icy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1scoop | Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 221mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 1169IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 1mg

There’s nothing wrong with classic vanilla crème brûlée but sometimes you want something a tad brighter–even just a drop of lemon makes vanilla spectacularly more interesting. That’s what this crème brulee recipe is all about. Dynamism!

Tap. Tap. Crunch. Eye-brow raise. That is the scene I want to paint you. You simply can’t help be surprised by the subtle, yet striking, lemon flavor that sort of hits you a moment after the vanilla. It’s really pleasant, and I highly recommend you experience it for yourself.

P.S. We really love lemons around here (and vanilla). There’s also this creamy, very lemony ice cream. These creamy lemon possets (like crème brulee minus the crunch), and meyer lemon bars.

Vanilla Crème with Lemon Brulee Recipe

Brûlée: to burn.

What are we burning today? Why, lemon infused sugar, of course!

If you infuse the sugar topping with fresh lemon peel, what you get is this amazing crackly, lemon-marshmallowy top layer. It’s an unexpected twist to the traditional crème brulee experience.

Basically, the oils from the lemon peel seep into the sugar adding plenty of gorgeous lemon essence. You just use the sugar and discard the peel (which is bitter and overpowering when burned).

Grab your apron and let’s celebrate lemon season crème brulee style!

Top Tips for Making Lemony Crème Brulee at Home

Broiler Method: Usually the problem with making creme brulee at home is how to create a thin enough crunch on top of the creme. Many recipes require the use of a small culinary propane torch. While fun, it’s not an everyday appliance, whereas most people have a broiler setting in their oven.

Use less sugar: My best tip is to use only a teaspoon of sugar per ramekin. More sugar makes it much too hard to tap-tap-break with a spoon.

High fat cream and chill: Vanilla crème brulee is such an exquisitely rich and elegant dessert but if you don’t use high fat cream and chill long enough, it can be soupy instead of creamy. If you are looking for a slightly lighter version, you can replace up to 1 cup with half and half (just be sure to use 1 cup heavy cream).

Infusing sugar takes time: While your custard is chilling, make your sugar+lemon zest and set to the side so it gets good and lemony. It’s normal for the sugar to appear wet and clump together (that’s how you know it’s working).

WATER BATH EXPLAINED

A water bath is where you fill halfway up the sides of the ramekin. This technique allows the custard to cook slowly and evenly when transferred to the oven.

6-Ingredients = One Heck of a Crème Brulee

It’s really amazing how few ingredients you need to make a remarkably good crème brulee. You will need:

• heavy cream: provides the right balance of fat and ensures the texture will thicken and set as it chills 
• vanilla: use a good quality vanilla extract or a vanilla bean for the purest flavor
• salt: just a pinch of sea salt will really enhance the flavors
• egg yolks: for a rich and flavorful custard
• granulated sugar: gives the custard a sweet flavor and is used for the topping
• lemon: we are only using the outside rind/zest to flavor the sugar that gets caramelized

Let’s Look at the Steps

As you can see, I am using a split vanilla bean to infuse the custard mixture, but you could just as easily use vanilla extract.

Step 1- Make Custard Mixture.

Step 2 – Bake. Chill. Make Lemon Sugar.

Step 3 – Serve.

Notice how the broiler method can leave the topping a bit rustic looking? I love this effect and think it makes this crème brulee really unique. The bits of sugar that are a bit moist get extra charred, which imparts even more campfire marshmallowy goodness.

Lemon crème brulee in Lemon

While I love especially shallow ramekins for crème brulee (you get more crunchy topping to filling), you could try setting a hollowed out lemon cut lengthwise on top of a ramekin and filling the lemon peel with the crème brulee. Not only is it eye-catching, it tells you what flavors you are about to taste. Due to moisture, you should serve this right away because it will cause your dessert to sweat.

Storing and preserving homemade lemon sugar

Your leftover lemon sugar will last for many months stored in a sealed bag or container (if it makes it that far). You could totally use the lemon sugar inside the custard portion of this recipe! Another idea is to use it to further enhance homemade lemonade.

CITRUS VARIATIONS (YUZU, GRAPEFRUIT, ORANGE)

Since we are using the zest to infuse the sugar, you could try any citrus. I don’t add the zest to the crème because I like the smoothness of vanilla, but you could add the zest finely grated if you want a more intense citrus flavor.

FAQs

Can you freeze crème brulee?

No. For the best texture, I recommend refrigerating crème brulee and enjoying fresh.

How to store crème brulee?

Wrap the custard tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, unwrap then add the sugar and broil immediately. Serve bruleed custard right away.

Can creme brulee be made ahead?

You can make it ahead up to the custard stage just be sure to wait until the last moment to torch or broil the sugar-topping for the right amount of crunch.

More Citrus Desserts for You

• How to Make a Lemon Posset Dessert
• Lemon Custard Ice Cream
• Fresh Lemon Cookies with Lemon Cranberry Glaze
• Meyer Lemon Bars
• Angel Food Cake with Orange-Vanilla Glaze (you can swap lemon for orange if you like)

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VANILLA CREME WITH LEMON BRULEE

If you love classic crème brulee, you might be surprised how much you love this lemon version. You taste so much of the vanilla but get just a lovely lemon crunch from the topping. Simply marvelous!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword custard

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 38 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 43 minutes minutes

Servings 4 ramekins

Calories 584kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 egg yolks
• ½ cup granulated sugar plus ¼ cup for lemon-sugar topping
• 1 lemon

Instructions

• Make custard mixture. Preheat oven to 325F. In a saucepan over low heat, combine cream, vanilla bean and salt. Cook just until hot (do not simmer/boil). Let sit for a few minutes then discard vanilla bean (add vanilla extract now, if using). In a bowl, beat yolks and sugar together for 1 minute. Stir about a quarter of the vanilla mixture into this mixture, then pour sugar-egg mixture into cream and stir.
• Bake, chill and make lemon sugar. Place four 6-ounce ramekins in a baking dish then divide custard mixture into each cup; open the oven door and set the baking dish with ramekins on top then pour boiling hot water halfway up the sides to create a water bath. Transfer carefully to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center is barely set. Cool completely. Refrigerate for several hours and up to a couple days. Use a peeler to remove one big strip of lemon peel. In a small bowl or ramekin, combine the lemon peel strip with ¼ cup sugar. Stir to distribute the sugar around the lemon peel. Set aside to infuse.
• Serve. When ready to serve, use the back of a spoon to break up any clumps of sugar then top each custard with an evenly distributed teaspoon of lemon sugar. It’s important to form a thin layer so it can easily be cracked by a light tap of a spoon. Place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from heat source. Turn on broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 5 minutes. Serve within 2 hours.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1ramekin | Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 377mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 2080IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 1mg

Photography by Adam Rahman

These sugar cookies have a fresh lemon flavor mellowed by butter, dipped in a sweet and sour icing that pops with fresh lemon and cranberry. The no-chill lemon zested dough bakes up pillowy soft with a slight chew.

These are rare gems that must be made to be tasted.

IN THIS POST: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE LEMON COOKIES FROM SCRATCH

• What Makes These Lemon Cookies Pure of Heart
• Step-by-Step: How to Make Fresh Lemon Cookies
• Lemon Cookies: Frequently Asked Questions
• Lemon Cookie Recipe Troubleshooting
• Favorite Things that Make a Bakery Quality Lemon Cookie

WHAT MAKES THESE LEMON COOKIES PURE IN HEART

In sunny Arizona, where I’m from, lemons abound from Fall to Winter—around the time cranberries hit the stores. Since I will forever pair lemons and cranberries with cool weather and a need for brightness, these little drops of sunshine are winter cookies.

I’ve always been attracted to the icing part of a sugar cookie, but I’ve always been disappointed by the experience. Overly sweet and full of artificial ingredients, they promise one thing and deliver another. I can’t help but wonder why we don’t just use natural ingredients as topping instead. While I love the way a glaze catches the light, piping icing feels like busy work. I’d much rather dunk my cookies, invert, and call it a day.

Sigh. Thankfully, these cookies have nothing to hide.

For the glaze, we are using real fruit: lemon and cranberries. No gimmicks, just pure flavors and colors that accentuate the cookie itself. In place of sprinkles, lemon zest adds pizzazz.

Turns out, you can make proud lemon cookies that are fun and practical to make.

Step-by-Step: How to Make FRESH LEMON COOKIES

What I love about this recipe is that it’s a break from all those heavy sweet indulgences. It stands out by being different. Plus, it’s so easy, it can be made on a whim, on a weeknight, but impresses everyone.

Spoon and level your flour.

For the Lemon Sugar Cookie Dough

You need 9 ingredients to make the dough:

• all-purpose flour: be sure to spoon your flour into your measuring cup; to level, run the back of a knife over the top to get rid of excess
• baking powder: allows the ingredients to rise and become airy
• baking soda: plays a key role in producing a chewy texture
• fine sea salt: you can’t have a great-tasting cookie without salt!
• unsalted butter: you can achieve the right texture by simply placing the wrapped sticks in the hem of your pants against your skin. After 15-minutes, the butter will be soft but not overly so.
• granulated sugar: adds a light sweetness and ensures a moist cookie
• vanilla extract: be sure to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor
• lemon (zested then juiced): Promises a flavorful cookie. Use a microplane and only remove the yellow (avoid the white pith). Zest over parchment, fold and dump. After zesting, cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice.
• 1 large egg: Equals roughly 1/4 cup and should be room temperature so it blends easily into the creamed butter-sugar mixture

Here’s the roadmap on how they come together:

1. Mix your dry ingredients together.
2. Beat your butter and sugar: Get it nice and fluffy and creamy.
3. Add Egg, Vanilla, Lemon Juice and Zest. Mix it just barely in (seriously, don’t beat that egg too hard!).
4. Mix in flour mixture: your dry ingredients (from step 1)
5. Bake Cookies: Scoop ’em into balls and bake — but please, please do not overbake. You want them to be just-done for that soft melty deliciousness.

For perfectly uniform cookies, dip your scoop in warm water to clean after each and every scoop of cookie dough.

For the Lemon Cranberry Glaze (Icing)

You need 3 ingredients to make the glaze:

• lemon: 1 large lemon will give you 2 tablespoons of juice. Be sure to use fresh and avoid lemon concentrate.
• cranberries: can be fresh or frozen
• powdered sugar: ensures a sweet flavor and that the icing will set

The glaze can be made while the cookies are baking.

1. Simmer the cranberries in lemon juice. Strain. Combine the juice with sifted powdered sugar to form a smooth glaze.
2. Dip cookies in glaze and invert. Top with lemon zest if you’re extra (we are). The glaze will harden as it sits.

Lemon Cookie Recipe Troubleshooting

Let’s review the 3 most important technical details 1) Creaming the butter at the right temperature, 2) Adding the right amount of flour, and 3) Not baking for too long.

Flat cookies – If your cookies flatten, I would suspect that your butter was too warm and you weren’t able to get enough air whipped in during the creaming method.

Why didn’t my cookies spread? – It’s easy to add too much flour if you just scoop right out of the flour bag–that compacted flour can add up to 25% more flour than the recipe calls for. When baking, give your flour a stir to lighten it, then spoon into a dry measuring cup. Don’t forget to level off with a knife. You can also scale and weigh your flour for 100% accuracy. See the video in this post for reference on the correct consistency.

Lemon flavor – If you want more lemon flavor in the cookie itself, I suggest adding up to 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract to the dough.

Thanks for being here. Apron time!

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FRESH LEMON COOKIES WITH CRANBERRY LEMON GLAZE

NUT FREE, VEGETARIAN

Serves 24 cookies / Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 10 minutes

These are buttery and fresh lemon cookies with a vibrant lemon-cranberry glaze! No chilling required. Just pillowy, chewy pure lemon cookies!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, cranberry, lemon

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 151kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• Electric Mixer
• Small Cookie Scoop (a 1-T scoop makes identical 2-inch cookies)
• parchment paper
• Baking Sheets
• Cooling Racks

Ingredients

Lemon Cookie Ingredients:

• 3 cups 360 g all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup 2 sticks, 226 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cups 250 g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 large egg room temperature

Cranberry Lemon Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 large lemon
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Whisk dry ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-low, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add Egg, Vanilla, Lemon Juice and Zest. Add egg to butter-sugar mixture and beat on medium speed just to combine. Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Just mix to combine. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
• Mix in flour mixture. Add flour mixture and mix at medium-low speed just until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
• Bake cookies. Using a cookie scoop, or tablespoon to portion dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges look done, but the center appears soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
• Make glaze. Juice lemon until you have 2 tablespoons of juice. Combine the juice and 1 cup cranberries in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. When the cranberries burst, about 3 minutes, strain over a bowl. Press down with a spatula to push as much cranberry sauce through as possible (scrape along the bottom of the strainer, too). Discard the contents of the strainer. Sift 1 cup powdered sugar into the cranberry lemon sauce and whisk until smooth and well incorporated. The glaze should be bright pink-red and glossy.
• Dip cookies in glaze. Dip each warm cookie, top down, into the glaze. Allow any excess glaze to drip off before inverting and returning to the rack (add lemon zest, if you like). Cool completely, the glaze will harden as it sits.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

Photography by Adam Rahman

Still have lemons and cranberries to use up?

One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our collection of dessert recipes. Check it out!

Would you believe that I’ve had a jar of dulce de leche in the pantry for a year? Oh, I wanted to eat it every single day with a spoon, but I was saving it for a special occasion. As much as I go crazy for a luxurious salted caramel ice cream, I discovered alfajores, as one does when googling “dulce de leche desserts” at 12am.

So, I got around to testing these cookies (all 12 of them), and, sure enough, they measure up to the other cookie recipes on this site. Bottom line, there’s something undeniably special about these Argentinian cookies, and I will be making them regularly.

With a shortbread-like cookie dough that crumbles tenderly when you bite into it, I can think of no better filling than sticky, buttery, sweet and salty dulce de leche.

And because I rarely know how to leave well enough alone, I even added a hint of cinnamon to the dough, sort of a churro-cookie hybrid, if you will. Of course, by all means, you could dust them with powdered sugar or roll the edges in coconut for a traditional approach.

Alfajores Ingredients:

How to Make Alfajores – Step by Step

While it seems like there are quite a few steps, these cookies are easier than they appear (mostly because the dulce de leche can be storebought), and I’ve included some process shots to show you what each stage should look like. Even if you’re tempted to rush into baking these (I totally get it), it’s well worth the wait to let the dough chill properly.

Step 1: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

To start, remove the butter from the fridge and set it on the counter. Meanwhile, measure and mix the dry ingredients (picture 1). For accuracy, it’s best to spoon ingredients like flour into the measuring cup, scraping across the top with the edge of a butter knife.

Step 2 and 3: Cream the Butter and Sugar – Add the Egg Yolk, Brandy, and Vanilla

In order for creaming to work properly, your butter must be cool and soft. I usually recommend microwaving on the defrost setting for a maximum of 10 seconds or leaving the butter at room temperature for 1 hour.

You can cream butter with sugar in either a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer. Either way, you want to really beat everything well until you see a light, creamy texture that’s pale yellow (picture 2). Next, add the egg yolk, brandy, and vanilla and mix just to combine (picture 3).

Step 4: Make the Cookie Dough and Chill Until Cold and Somewhat Firm

To make the cookie dough, you will mix the dry into the wet just until incorporated, being careful not to over-mix for the tenderest of cookies. Once the dough is formed, you can easily wrap and refrigerate it in plastic wrap. I strongly encourage you to chill the dough for 1 hour 20 minutes (any less and it will be difficult to work with).

Troubleshooting Dough: It’s ok if the dough tears when you roll it. You can smooth any cracks with your fingertips by pressing the dough together gently.

Step 5: Roll and Cut the Dough

To roll the dough, I like to dust the counter with both flour and cinnamon (just a dash or two). I like how the cinnamon adds a bit of spiciness. When rolling, press down in the center of the dough with a rolling pin and roll out toward the edges, working in a circle until you have a smooth, uniform dough that’s about 1/4-inch thick.

You will need a plain or fluted 2-inch pastry cutter to stamp out the cookies. Cutting the cookies is a two-stage process: You will get about 10-15 cookies from the first rolled out section of dough.

You will need to gather the remaining dough and chill it again, about 30 minutes; it becomes sticky and hard to work with the longer it sits at room temperature. Once chilled, you can roll and cut the remaining cookies (around the time the first baked batch is cooling).

Should I refrigerate the cookies before baking?

After rolling and shaping pastry dough, you may want to refrigerate the dough prior to baking. Buttery cookie dough tends to, well, melt and lose its shape. While I did not refrigerate my cookie tray (there wasn’t room in the fridge), it’s good practice if your goal is for the fluted edges to be crisp and defined. If you refrigerate the cookies, you may want to add 1 to 2 minutes of bake time to account for starting with colder dough.

Bake and Fill the Sandwich Cookies with Dulce de Leche Caramel

I like to bake the first batch while the remaining cookie dough is chilling in the fridge. These cookies only need about 12 minutes of bake time and should be pale in color.

Do Alfajores Need to Be Refrigerated?

If you live in a very hot or humid climate, I recommend storing alfajores in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Personally, I find the refrigerated texture to be very enjoyable, because the caramel seems to be slightly stickier in a way I like.

More Caramel Desserts You Might Like:

• Salted Caramel Chocolate Tarts
• Salted Caramel Ice Cream
• Caramel Apple Pie
• Caramel Powder

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Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies)

Alfajores (alfa-hor-ays) are soft, buttery cookies from South America made, in part, with cornstarch for an ultra-tender, crumbly cookie. Sticky dulce de leche holds the cookies together. To take these sandwich cookies to the next level, roll the edges in dried coconut flakes or cover them with powdered sugar.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Argentinian, South American

Keyword caramel, cookies, dessert, dulce de leche

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Chill Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 27 minutes minutes

Servings 12 sandwich cookies

Calories 171kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Equipment

• A plain or fluted 2-inch round cookie cutter for stamping the dough

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornstarch spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp, plus 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon for dusting (optional)
• 3/4 cup dulce de leche

Instructions

• Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
• Cream the butter with the sugar. Use a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to mix the butter and sugar together over medium-high speed, scraping down the sides with a spatula, until fluffy and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, brandy, and vanilla and mix again to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
• Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, about 20 seconds. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated, but no further, about 15 seconds.
• Wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough. Spread plastic wrap on the counter and set the dough on top. Without handling the dough, wrap the edges to form a thick disc. Tightly seal the top and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour 20 minutes minimum.
• Preheat. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the center. Line a sheet tray with a silpat or parchment paper.
• Shape and bake the cookies. Sprinkle flour and a few dashes of cinnamon, if desired, on the counter-top. Place the cold dough on top and use a rolling pin to spread quickly, about 1/4-inch thick. Stamp out as many cookies as you can and use an offset spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared sheet tray, about 1/2-inch apart. Bake for 12 minutes; it's ok if the cookies are still pale. Wrap and refrigerate remaining dough until firm, then roll, stamp, and bake the remaining cookies.
• Smear and serve. Turn half the cookies over and smear about 2 teaspoons dulce de leche on the over-turned halves. Place a second cookie on tophttps://amzn.to/3bVACo7 to form a sandwich. Serve.

Video

Notes

Cornstarch – If you don’t have cornstarch, you may substitute tapioca flour (aka tapioca starch) or arrowroot.

Brandy – Any brandy will work in this recipe. You may use an alternative alcohol that you like the flavor of instead, or increase the amount of vanilla to 2 teaspoons.

Dulce de Leche – You can purchase high quality dulce de leche in the baking aisle or online (I like San Ignacio brand), so there’s really no need to make your own. 

Variation Tip: Drizzle or dip the cookies in melted chocolate or roll the edges in dried coconut. You can also dust them with powdered sugar just before serving using a sifter or sieve.

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 96mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 274IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you!

Now you can enjoy the magic of New Orleans-style beignets at home! These donuts are pillowy with just the right amount of chew. As you can see, they get dusted generously with powdered sugar and for a special Fall twist, there’s a dash of pumpkin pie spice, too.

I just love a fresh donut. Don’t you?

Donuts are my happy place for sure, and it doesn’t get much better than coffee and beignets for breakfast.

Authentic Beignets

While the exact recipe for beignets may vary slightly from one chef to another, there are a few key ingredients that are essential for creating the authentic New Orleans beignet experience. The basic ingredients include flour, water, eggs, sugar, salt, and yeast. These simple pantry staples come together to form the foundation of the delicious beignet dough.

To prepare the dough, the dry ingredients are first combined in a mixing bowl. Warm water is then added to activate the yeast and create a soft, elastic dough. The dough is kneaded until it becomes smooth and elastic, which helps to develop the gluten and create the desired texture. After a period of resting and rising, the dough is ready to be rolled out and cut into the iconic beignet shapes.

Traditionally, beignets are cut into square or rectangular shapes, although many modern variations feature round or triangular forms. The dough is then deep-fried until it puffs up and turns golden brown. The beignets are carefully flipped over to ensure even cooking and then drained on a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Finally, they are generously dusted with powdered sugar before serving.

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Beignets at Home

Now that you have an understanding of the history and ingredients behind beignets, let’s dive into a step-by-step guide to making these delightful treats at home. With a little bit of patience and practice, you’ll soon be enjoying freshly made beignets whenever the craving strikes.

Gather your ingredients

Before you begin, make sure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand. You’ll need:

• lukewarm water (115℉): I recommend using filtered water that’s warm like bath-water to the touch.
• sugar: granulated white sugar helps activate the yeast but honey works, too
• active dry yeast: you may substitute instant yeast 1:1
• 1 large egg: equals roughly 1/4 cup egg for reference
• salt: sea salt or Kosher salt, preferably no table salt which contains bitter-tasting iodine
• whole milk or half-and-half: dairy slows down the rise and gives a soft texture and enhances the flavor of the dough; you may use any milk alternative 1:1 (low fat, heavy cream, canned coconut milk, even buttermilk)
• bread flour: Because of the proportion of starch to protein, you can’t just swap all-purpose flour or pastry flour
• shortening: This ingredient helps create a dough that melts in your mouth and is tender; you may use refined or unrefined coconut oil instead
• refined coconut oil: this is the fry-oil of choice but canola is a budget-friendly substitute
• powdered sugar: this is the classic choice for dusting over freshly fried beignets
• pumpkin pie spice: This is an optional ingredient that can be incorporated into the dough or the powdered sugar topping for a Fall treat

Step 1: Activate the yeast

In a medium bowl, combine the warm water and granulated sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy. This indicates that the yeast is active and ready to use.

Step 2: Mix the dough

Combine the egg, salt, and milk with the activated yeast and stir gently. Add the flour and shortening and stir to form a sticky dough.

Step 3: Knead the dough and let it rise

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and elastic. If the dough feels too sticky, you can add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much, as it can result in a dense beignet.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free area for about 1 to 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. This is an important step for developing the desired light and airy texture of the beignets.

Step 4: Roll out and cut the dough

After the dough has risen, gently punch it down to release any excess air. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares or rectangles, about 2 to 3 inches in size.

How to Safely Fry Beignets: In a large, deep pot or Dutch oven, heat about 2 inches of high heat oil (refined coconut oil or vegetable oil) to a temperature of 325°F (163°C). Carefully drop a few beignets into the hot oil, being cautious not to overcrowd the pot. Fry the beignets for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until they turn golden brown and puffy.

Drain and dust with powdered sugar

Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the fried beignets to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil. While they are still warm, generously sprinkle the beignets with powdered sugar (mixed with pumpkin pie spice, if using). Repeat the frying process with the remaining dough until all the beignets are cooked.

Serve and enjoy

Serve the freshly made beignets while they are still warm and at their most delicious. Enjoy them with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate for the ultimate indulgence. Be sure to share them with friends and family, as beignets are best enjoyed in good company.

With this step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to create your own batch of authentic beignets that rival those found in the best New Orleans cafes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different shapes and fillings to put your own personal spin on this classic treat.

Best Places to Find Authentic Beignets in New Orleans

When visiting New Orleans, indulging in authentic beignets is a must and while you might not want to indulge more than once, if you’re staying for a while, why not tour all the hot spots? The city is home to several iconic establishments. Here are some of the best places to find authentic beignets in New Orleans:

1. Café Du Monde: Located in the heart of the French Quarter, Café Du Monde is a New Orleans institution. This iconic café has been serving beignets since 1862 and is known for its 24/7 operation. Enjoy your beignets with a cup of their famous café au lait for the ultimate New Orleans experience.

2. Morning Call: Another French Quarter favorite, Morning Call has been delighting locals and visitors since 1870. This charming café offers a cozy atmosphere and a wide selection of beignets, along with other classic New Orleans treats like po’ boys and gumbo.

3. Café Beignet: With multiple locations throughout the city, Café Beignet is a popular choice for those seeking authentic beignets in a relaxed setting. Enjoy your beignets while listening to live jazz music at their Royal Street location, or soak in the atmosphere of the French Market at their Decatur Street spot.

4. New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co.: Located just a short walk from the French Quarter, this family-owned café is a hidden gem. New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co. offers a variety of beignet flavors, including traditional, chocolate, and blueberry. Pair your beignets with their signature chicory coffee for a true taste of New Orleans.

5. Loretta’s Authentic Pralines: While not primarily known for beignets, Loretta’s Authentic Pralines is a local favorite for their light and fluffy treats. Located in the French Quarter, Loretta’s serves up beignets that are made to order. Her pralines drizzled beignets are a must-try!

These are just a few of the many places where you can find authentic beignets in New Orleans. If you have a favorite spot, please share in the comment section (at the bottom of the post).

Shoutout to Some Fellow Chefs and Their Beignet Recipes

As a chef, I feel so inspired by the creativity of others:

1. Emeril Lagasse’s Beignets: Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is known for his love of New Orleans cuisine, and his beignet recipe is no exception. His recipe combines the classic ingredients with a touch of vanilla extract, adding a subtle depth of flavor to the beignets.

2. John Besh’s Buttermilk Beignets: Chef John Besh’s buttermilk beignets offer a tangy twist on the traditional treat. The addition of buttermilk gives the beignets a slight tanginess and enhances their light and fluffy texture.

3. Donald Link’s Crawfish Beignets: James Beard Award-winning chef Donald Link puts a savory spin on beignets with his crawfish-filled variation. These beignets are packed with flavor, thanks to the addition of Louisiana crawfish tails and Cajun spices.

Whether it’s fresh or frayed, grab that apron. It’s time to make beignets!

More Sweet and Comforting Recipes

• Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
• Lavender London Fog Drink (Earl Grey Tea Latte)
• Long John Donuts with Maple Glaze
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Streusel Chai Coffee Cake

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New Orleans Style Beignets with Pumpkin Pie Spice

One-Pot, Nut-Free, Vegetarian

It’s pure joy to watch these beignets pillow and puff. After visiting the French Quarter, I really wanted these donuts to have a similar texture; these light and chewy beignets with powdered sugar are every bit as good as the beignets I had in New Orleans. While the recipe produces a small quantity of dough, you will get about 24 donuts that expand in the fry oil. Aim for three donuts at a time and try using refined coconut oil if you can; it fries cleanly, has no taste, and produces high-quality donuts.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword donuts

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 24 donuts

Calories 369kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

• ½ cup lukewarm water 115℉
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half *the higher the fat, the softer the donut
• 2 ⅓ cup bread flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 4 cups refined coconut oil for frying
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice optional for a Fall seasonal twist

Instructions

• Activate the yeast. In a medium bowl, combine warm (not hot) water with the sugar and yeast. Stir with a spoon. After about 5 minutes, you will see tiny bubbles form, an indication that the yeast is alive and well. If so, proceed with the other liquids.
• Mix the dough. Combine the egg, salt, and milk with the activated yeast and stir gently. Add the flour and shortening and stir to form a sticky dough.
• Knead the dough and let it rise. Sprinkle flour on the counter and knead the dough for several minutes until the surface becomes smooth. Grease a bowl and set the dough inside. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, at least 2 hours.
• Heat and test the oil. Warm the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat to about 325°F. When the oil is hot, add a small piece of dough as a tester. When the tester floats and turns golden, the oil is ready.
• Roll the dough out and deep fry. Roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness and use a pizza cutter or dough scraper to cut into rows, then squares. Gently drop the dough, one piece at a time into the oil and fry until golden, flipping constantly. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a plate. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice. To serve, sift the powdered sugar mixture over the hot donuts and serve right away.

Video

Notes

Technique Tip: It’s best to fry 1 to 3 donuts at a time. Any more, and you run the risk of over-crowding the beignets and lowering the fry temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1donut | Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Photography by Adam Rahman

To candy the peel only or by the slice? That is the question.

I love the look of the orange flesh with the peel but it does add a bit of extra moisture so it’s important to slice them thickly and dry them after they’ve been candied in the oven. I think this extra step is worth it.

Since I developed this recipe over a decade ago for a holiday gifts class, I’ve made these a number of times and will share all my tips. You can enjoy the candy orange slices by themselves or dip and serve in dark chocolate.

Ingredient Tips: You can find maple crystals online or in specialty stores or just use granulated sugar.

How to Temper Chocolate

Melt only half of the dark chocolate you are using to 115 degrees. You want to remove the bowl from heat before adding the remaining half of the dark chocolate because you don’t want to even come close to scorching the chocolate.

Work slowly and methodically to break apart the molecules in the chocolate then force them to come back together. How you do this is by stirring your way through 3 temperature phases:

1. Melt half of the chocolate to 115F. Add remaining chocolate (off the heat).
2. Cool to the low 80s
3. Stir, stir, stir and heat to 88°-90℉

Which Chocolate to Use:

For this recipe, please stay away from white chocolate or any chocolate with a low percentage of cocoa butter or couverture (e.g. no chocolate chips).

Look for chocolate bars labeled bittersweet or semisweet dark chocolate 60% cacao or higher. You can even mix-and-match such as 60% semi-sweet and 72% dark chocolate.

Ingredient Tip: You can find baking bars for melting in the baking aisle of most grocery stores and online. For example, this Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate (64% cacao) has a rich flavor.

Step-by-Step

Double check that your knife, cutting board, and equipment is free of any water. Chop the chocolate then place half of it inside your bowl and set on top of a pot of simmering water (the double broiler).

Use a spatula and stir until a thermometer reads 115℉. Remove from the heat and add the remaining half of the chocolate you chopped earlier. Allow the temperature to drop to the low 80°s before returning to the double broiler.

For the final step, stir and heat until the chocolate reaches 88°-90℉. Remove from the heat and use immediately.

The chocolate will harden as it cools, which is why it’s important to work quickly.

Are you giving these as gifts? How did you package them? I’d love to see!

More Sweet Holiday Recipes For You:

• Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
• Cranberry Orange Bread
• Streusel Chai Coffee Cake
• Caramel Apple Pie
• Perfect Vegan Pumpkin Pie with Gluten Free Crust

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Chocolate Dipped Candied Oranges

This is nature's candy. These orange slices are so chewy and the dark chocolate adds the perfect bitter sweet balance. I love choosing sweeteners and spices that infuse extra flavor into the oranges. You can even keep the syrup in the refrigerator for months for pancakes.

Course Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate coating, oranges

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours

Servings 30 slices

Calories 185kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

• 2 Valencia Oranges
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup brown rice syrup or corn syrup
• 1 star anise
• ½ cup maple crystals or granulated sugar as needed for coating
• 1 pound 4 ounces 60% semi-sweet dark chocolate chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Cut the oranges in half lengthwise, then with the cut side down, slice cross-wise into ¼-inch thick segments. Do not remove the peel.
• Candy the oranges: In a 10-inch sauté pan, combine the syrups and star anise and bring to a boil over medium heat then lower to a simmer. Add the orange slices, separating them and simmer gently for 1 hour uncovered.
• Dry in the oven: Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. With a slotted spoon, remove each segment and place on a cooling rack set over a sheet tray. Place the sheet tray in the oven, checking periodically for dryness. Cook for approximately 2.5 hours, until dry and pliable. If sticky, toss orange slices in the granulated maple crystals to coat.
• Temper the chocolate: Set up a double boiler and begin to melt 1 pound of chocolate until candy thermometer registers 115°F. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate or until the temperature drops to the low 80°s. Bring the chocolate up to 88°-90°F.
• Quickly dip each orange slice into the chocolate scraping the chocolate against the side of the bowl. Spread out on a sheet tray lined with wax or parchment paper to set.

Nutrition

Serving: 1orange slice | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg

Here is my tried-and-true process for tempering chocolate for dipping bananas. When you temper dark chocolate, you get a shell that hardens even at room temperature. Meaning, you can use frozen or room temperature bananas (or any fruit for that matter).

To temper or not to temper? That is the question.

If you plan on serving chocolate coated fruit at room temperature, you need to temper your chocolate in order for it to form a hard shell. However, if you plan on freezing your fruit and serving cold/frozen, simply melt the chocolate and dip your frozen banana to coat.

I think both methods are simple enough and so I’ll leave it up to you.

There’s so much to love about tempered chocolate. It’s definitely a skill to have in your back pocket around the holidays because you can do so many simple, yet impactful things. You could make:

• chocolate banana pops
• chocolate bark with nuts, seeds, or crushed candy cane
• chocolate coated room temperature fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, or candied orange peel
• chocolate dipped ice cream cones, marshmallows, or graham crackers
• homemade candy bars or gourmet chocolates
• As a drizzle or dip for ice cream, brownies, biscotti cookies, or cakes

Melting Point of Chocolate (Tempering Process)

I used to teach an edible holiday gifts class to the public and developed this foolproof method for melting and tempering chocolate:

Melt only half of the dark chocolate you are using to 115 degrees. You want to remove the bowl from heat before adding the remaining half of the dark chocolate because you don’t want to even come close to scorching the chocolate.

Work slowly and methodically to break apart the molecules in the chocolate then force them to come back together. How you do this is by stirring your way through 3 temperature phases:

1. Melt half of the chocolate to 115F. Add remaining chocolate (off the heat).
2. Cool to the low 80s
3. Stir, stir, stir and heat to 88°-90℉

Best Chocolate to Melt

It’s tricky to temper white chocolate or any chocolate with a low percentage of cocoa butter or couverture (e.g. stay away from chocolate chips and look at the bars instead).

In my experience, the very best chocolate to use is anything labeled bittersweet or semisweet dark chocolate 60% cacao or higher. You can even mix-and-match such as 60% semi-sweet and 72% dark chocolate for flavor and work-ability. Just don’t use 50% for tempering. It won’t work.

Ingredient Tip: You can find high quality melting chocolate in the baking aisle of most grocery stores and online. For example, this Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate (64% cacao) works nicely.

How to Temper Chocolate Step-by-Step

Double check that your knife, cutting board, and equipment is free of any water. Chop the chocolate then place half of it inside your bowl and set on top of a pot of simmering water (the double broiler).

Use a spatula and stir until a thermometer reads 115℉. Remove from the heat and add the remaining half of the chocolate you chopped earlier. Allow the temperature to drop to the low 80°s before returning to the double broiler.

For the final step, stir and heat until the chocolate reaches 88°-90℉. Remove from the heat and use immediately.

You can see that I’m holding the skewer-end of the banana and a spatula to drizzle. You can also dip and roll your fruit if you have enough chocolate to do so. I like to set my chocolate coated fruit on a parchment-lined tray for easy clean-up.

The chocolate will harden as it cools, which is why it’s important to work quickly.

Eye-Catching Toppings for Your Banana Pops:

As I mentioned, you only need 1 magic ingredient (chocolate) to make a myriad of custom treats. Here are my favorite garnishes if you want to mix things up:

Freeze-Dried, Crumbled Fruit such as strawberries or raspberries sprinkled onto just-dipped bananas look stunning and add a fresh, fun flavor twist. They are available online here or in the health foods/snack section of most grocery stores.

Toasted Chopped Nuts or Seeds such as peanuts, cashews, or sunflower seeds

Sea Salt Flakes enhance the flavor of the chocolate and banana and add a bit of crunch. Just be sure to use a tiny pinch — a little goes a long way (Maldon is my favorite).

Shredded coconut is especially delicious if you toast it dry over low heat until golden. For a recipe like this, you want the fine desiccated coconut flakes.

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Chocolate Covered Banana Pops

You can serve these banana pops frozen or at room temperature because the chocolate coating is tempered; Simply dip, allow to harden into a shell, and enjoy!

Course Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword banana, chocolate coating

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 banana pops

Calories 400kcal

Author Chef Sara Furcini

Ingredients

• 6 ripe bananas cut in half and skewered
• 2 pounds semi-sweet dark chocolate (60% cacao) chopped, divided

Instructions

• Frozen or Not Frozen Bananas: Since you will be tempering the chocolate, feel free to use room temperature or skewered frozen bananas. The chocolate will harden as it sits.
• Temper the chocolate: Set up a double boiler and begin to melt about half of the chocolate until a candy thermometer registers 115℉. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 pound of chopped chocolate. Stir until the temperature drops to the low 80°s. Return the bowl to the pot of simmering water by placing on top (do not let any steam get into the chocolate). Stir the chocolate and heat until you see the temperature reach between 88°-90℉. Remove from heat and use immediately.
• Coat the banana with chocolate: Quickly dip each banana into the chocolate scraping the chocolate against the side of the bowl (or use a spatula to drizzle the chocolate over the banana). Spread the chocolate covered banana skewers out on a sheet tray lined with wax or parchment paper to set. While the chocolate is still wet, you can sprinkle with chopped nuts or crumbled freeze-dried fruit, if desired. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1banana pop | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 2mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 0.02mg | Iron: 0.002mg