Weight Watchers Mickey Mouse Beignets (4 SP)

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In my determination to keep trying these #DisneyMagicMoments desserts (ICYMI, I started off by making my own Zero SmartPoint Dole Whip), I decided that next up should be something I wasn't sure was possible - but with a little air-fryer magic, it certainly was! 

When Disney posted their recipe for Mickey Mouse beignets, I couldn't help but wonder - can I do this with the famous WW two-ingredient dough recipe to lighten these up and eliminate the need for frying and for yeast? I had everything in the house to make these, and I've never worked with yeast before, and wanted to see if it would work. The short answer: yes! They didn't rise as much as a typical beignet, but I also could have probably rolled my dough a bit thinner to help achieve that effect. It worked out though, since my husband prefers denser desserts over something more airy.

Here's how I did it, plus an optional and easy way to make your own lightened chocolate sauce for these. These are (without the chocolate sauce) only 4 SmartPoints for a quarter of the batch on all myWW plans!

We started by making the two-ingredient dough: 1 cup of self-rising flour and 1 cup of plain, fat-free Greek yogurt. I prefer to use Fage brand since I've had the best luck with the dough getting the right consistency with Fage over other brands. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer, but if you're doing this by hand, get ready to mix until everything is really bound together. If it looks like there are some crumbly bits at the bottom of your bowl, just keep mixing - it'll eventually catch on!

The trick to making these taste a little bit more like beignets is adding some flavoring to the two-ingredient dough. I like to use Jordan's Skinny Syrups - they're sweetened with Sucralose rather than sugar alcohol, so even sensitive tummies can enjoy this! I used a tablespoon of the birthday cake flavor syrup to give the dough a sweet undertone, especially since we're dealing with Greek yogurt in the mix (it doesn't taste like Greek yogurt without it, but it does have a bit of a tang so with the syrup, that eliminates it). If you don't have Jordan's Skinny Syrups handy, you can use a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.

Pro tip: if you're on the Purple or Blue myWW plan, Jordan's Skinny Syrups are great to give your plain, nonfat Greek yogurt some flavor while keeping it Zero Points. Snack win!

After rolling the dough as thin as you possibly can (I recommend using a rolling pin that you've dusted with a little flour), use a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter to cut out the shakes of your Mickey Mouse beignets. To make as many as you possibly can, take the excess dough and roll it out and keep repeating until you have no choice but to make a few small squares. If you don't want to make your beignets Mickey Mouse shaped, you could just cut your dough into squares and make them that way. I got my Mickey Mouse cookie cutter on Amazon in a 2 pack, but they have a variety of types that you can choose from to bring some magic into your kitchen.

I then air fried them, taking it only five minutes at a time. It may vary from air fryer to air fryer, but these didn't take long at all. I waited until the edges began to look a little golden, but not too golden as to not have them be overdone. I'd also recommend flipping them at least once so the bottoms can rise as much as the tops.

No air fryer? No problem! Try baking them at 350, again just taking it only a few minutes at a time. When making bagels with the dough, it typically takes 25 minutes for them to bake - but these are much smaller. It'll depend on the size of your beignets, too. If baking, spritz with a little buttery spray.

I then took all of the beignets - this batch made about 30 - and put them in a plastic container. Since I didn't use any oil, the powdered sugar didn't stick super well, but was good to take from the bottom of the container and sprinkle on top as needed before serving, so that way none of it went to waste and I didn't need to spend extra SmartPoints.

As you can see, some of these were flatter than others and it doesn't rise as much without the yeast - but I promise, the insides still had a similar fluffy flakiness as a traditional beignet!

In case you wanted a little extra sweetness (or have a chocoholic like my husband in your family), you can easily whip up some chocolate sauce by melting chocolate chips. I like to use Lily's brand since they're sweetened with stevia instead of sugar (but do have sugar alcohol in them, so go easy on it if you're sensitive to that!) and that makes them lower in SmartPoints. I used 1 SmartPoints worth of chips for my beignets, which went a very long way, so that brought my total up to 5 SmartPoints - given I used to spend that on one Fiber One cookie when they used to make those, I'll take it given my batch of 30 meant I got about 7 mini beignets! Just heat the desired amount of chips in the microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring between rounds to make sure it melts without burning.

We brought the other two servings to my parents, who agreed that while it may not have been as fluffy and airy as a traditional beignet, it's definitely a fantastic Weight Watchers-friendly alternative that curbs the craving due to it's very similar flavors and close-enough textures (especially if you roll your dough thinner, ha!). My husband (who is not on WW) said he couldn't tell the difference between this and a typical beignet, and prefers the density that these had since, as aforementioned, that's how he likes his pastries. So I'll call it a success!

Mickey Mouse Beignets

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup self-rising flour, plus a little extra
• 1 tbsp birthday cake Jordan's Skinny Syrups OR 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• Optional: buttery spray
• Optional for sauce (not included in the nutritional information or SmartPoints listed below): chocolate chips 

Instructions

• Mix together Greek yogurt, 1 cup flour, and syrup/extract until well combined. Dough's texture will likely be a little sticky!
• On a pastry board or similar surface, sprinkle your extra flour so the dough doesn't stick. Use a rolling pin to get your dough as thin as you possibly can.
• Cut out your beignets with a knife into squares, or using a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter​
• Repeat steps 2-3 as necessary with excess dough.
• Optional: spray a bit of buttery spray to your beignets.
• Air fry or bake your beignets at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Every air fryer may be a bit different, so whether air frying or baking, take it 5 minutes at a time to make sure they don't burn since they're so small. Flip at least once during this process.
  • They'll be done when the edges are starting to look a bit golden.
• Put beignets in a container with 2 tbsp powdered sugar. Shake until beignets are coated.
  • If powdered sugar goes to the bottom of the container, use excess to sprinkle on top before serving your beignets.
• To make the sauce: microwave chocolate chips in 15 second increments, stirring each time to make sure they melt evenly without burning.
• Divide amount of beignets into quarters. Each quarter is one serving.

4 SmartPoints on all myWW plans
Calories: 145
Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 3.3 mg
Sodium: 423.5 mg
Carbohydrates: 28.7 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 5.7 g
Protein: 9 g