The Clever Way To Turn Trader Joe's Crescent Rolls Into Beignets

Gumbo is only made during the winter, and king cake recipes are popular during Mardi Gras. But Visit New Orleans says the boot state's beignets are always available to help laissez les bon temps rouler — or, as you might say in English instead of Cajun French, let the good times roll (per CBS News). 

A treat popularized in Louisiana by French-Creole colonists during the 18th century, beignets have become a must-have dessert for those visiting the big easy. However, what if you want to enjoy a beignet far away from the swamps of Louisiana?

Well, you could use Visit New Orleans' recipe to put these fried and sugar-dusted doughnuts together from scratch. But if you don't think you can trust yourself to make homemade dough, you can take an easier but still delicious path by visiting a place that's likely closer to you than the French Quarter. According to a Trader Joe's podcast episode titled "Trader Joe's Trips the Light Hacktastic," you can hack the grocer's organic crescent rolls to fry beignets that are as sweet as New Orleans jazz.

Trader Joe's reports on its website that its organic crescent rolls are "buttery" with a "layered texture." And the company doesn't seem to be exaggerating its product's quality. After blind taste-testing various brands' crescent rolls, Allrecipes named Trader Joe's ready-to-bake dough the best store-bought variety money can buy. These factors may have lead New Jersey Trader Joe's associate Ben to use the dough as a base for beignets — a recipe he shared with the Trader Joe's podcast.

As revealed in episode 49, "Trader Joe's Trips the Light Hacktastic," to make this recipe work, you'll need Trader Joe's organic crescent rolls, powdered sugar, and oil. The Trader Joe's associate explained that he simply cuts the dough into smaller pieces before frying them. 

While Ben suggested using a deep fryer to cook this crescent roll snack, as Great British Chefs explains, you can also fry them with a frying pan, cooking oil, and a slotted spoon. Once the beignets are hot and ready, douse them in powdered sugar.

While cooking up the beignet hack from the Trader Joe's podcast may already make you feel like you're enjoying a snack at Cafe Du Monde, there are other few tips you can use to build on the associate's recipe. 

For example, as Pillsbury suggests, to make more equally-sized beignets, fold the crescent dough into a ball on wax paper or a cutting board sprinkled with flour. Then, after molding the dough into a ½ thick rectangle, cut the crescent roll base into even pieces before tossing them into the fryer. (While Pillsbury says that using this tip with its crescent rolls will yield 9 beignets, this may differ for the Trader Joe's dough.)

Pillsbury also notes that to ensure your beignets are perfectly golden, you should fry them in batches of no more than three. Fry each dessert for at least 2 minutes front and back, for a total cook time of 4 minutes per beignet. However, what's most important to remember is that once you fry the treat, Visit New Orleans says you must eat them hot. And for extra authenticity, make sure to down your Trader Joe's crescent roll beignets with café au lait.