Doughnuts with a fancy name

This weather is insane! It was 39 degrees last night - and it is still freezing outside! I wish we could just have spring showers and bag the cold wind. There is a positive side to everything though, our irrigation lines have been down for about three weeks now. Every time they think they fix a leak, another one shows up. So I'm glad it hasn't been blazing hot or we would have lost all of our alfalfa.

I'm thinking about running away to Las Vegas to enjoy the warmer weather. It is supposed to be 86 degrees there on Wednesday. One of my favorite places to stay in Vegas is at the Signature at the MGM Grand. I stayed there once when I went with my sister and our good friend, Kim Hansen. I have been friends with Kim since kindergarten and I still adore her as much now as I did then. She has this contagious laugh and she is the QUEEN of shopping!

One of the reasons I loved the Signature was they had the best lemon blueberry beignets in the little coffee shop in the lobby. Beignets are french doughnuts.

I have to admit I LOVE doughnuts. When I was a little girl, I would walk to Winchells Doughnuts in Holladay to buy my favorite treat. My older sister still teases me because I always said I was going to own a doughnut store one day. (Why didn't I jump on the Krispy Kream band wagon when it first started?)

I found this recipe to make the beignets - I usually don't have great success when I try to make doughnuts, but these seem a little easier.

Lemon Blueberry Beignets

In a bowl, dissolve one package of yeast in 1/4C. warm water (110*) for about 12 minutes or until the yeast starts bubbling and doubles in size.
In a bowl, combine 1/4C. sugar, 2T. shortening (I like to use butter,) 1/2t. salt and 2t. grated lemon zest. Add 1 pint fresh blueberries and using a fork, lightly mash the blueberries against the side of the bowl. Stir in 1/2C. boiling water (110degrees), and add in 3T. lemon juice, 1/2C. heavy cream, yeast mixture and 1 beaten egg. Add 2C. flour - blend well, then add in 2 1/2C. flour - 1/4C. at a time. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a rectangle. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Using a sharp knife or doughnut hole cutter, cut out round circles and deep fry for about 3-5 minutes until they are golden brown on all sides. Drain on a paper towel and lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.