On of the great and delicious treats at Disneyland is the Mickey shaped beignets at the Min Julep Bar in New Orleans Square. Beignets are commonly known in New Orleans as a breakfast served with powdered sugar on top of them. They are traditionally prepared right before being served to be eaten fresh and hot. Variations of fried dough can be found across cuisines internationally, however, the origin of the term beignet is specifically French. In the United States, beignets have been popular within New Orleans Creole cuisine and are customarily served as a dessert or in some sweet variation. They were brought to New Orleans in the 18th century by French colonists.
They are closest to a donut but they do have a very distinctive flavor that is very different and a much lighter and fluffier texture than a normal donut. Disneyland serves these year round and there is alway a huge line all day long to get them. There are two times of the year that they offer variations on the recipe. During Halloween time they off pumpkin beignets that are my personal favorite flavor and have a nice balance of pumpkin flavor in the dough. At Christmas time they have gingerbread beignets that are very good and the ginger which can normally be somewhat overpowering in a cookie is balanced very nicely in the beignets.
(Pumpkin Beignets)
This year Disneyland is offering a new Christmas variation on the desert treat with the introduction of the candy cane version of the beignets. The beignet is the normal flavor but they add ground up candy cane to the powdered sugar that is put on top of them. Yesterday was the first time that I had them and was a little underwhelmed with them. Don’t get me wrong they are still very delicious but the difference between the candy cane and the regular one that they still serve at the same time is not that different.
While I am no the hugest gingerbread fan the gingerbread beignets are distinctively different from the norma dough that is used. Along with the pumpkin they offer a real special treat for their respective three variations and make going to the park to get them a must stop at both holidays. The candy cane version is not a huge difference from the normal regular powered sugar. In fact the only real difference is that the candy cane version is crunchy because of the added candy cane to the powdered sugar and the obvious peppermint taste of the candy cane.
(Regular Beignets)
I am glad that Disneyland continues to add special food items to the mix during the holidays but this years change to the beignets is disappointing. The candy cane topping is overall not very special or different from the regular beignets regular formula. What makes the pumpkin and the gingerbread versions so special is that they are distinctively different and an extra special reason to stop by the Mint Julep Bar and get these delicious treats. Hopefully Disneyland will bring back the gingerbread beignets for the next holiday season.
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