Mom's dinner and Clive's favorite-French Quarter Beignets

Last Thursday, the Mom's of children that have died, met for our May dinner. The dinner was a potluck and Mom's brought their child's favorite dish. Clive's Mom, Camilla, made French Quarter Beignets. Very tasty, here is the recipe:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: about 3 dozen

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons slat
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep frying
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure our the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to yo stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Add the confections' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.