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Pumpkin beignets are pillowy, sugary New Orleans-style fried Dough with a fall flavor. You can enjoy these soft donuts right at home sprinkled with powder sugar or dipped in your favorite sauce.

Love Disney’s Beignets?! So do we! This fall version is delish, but if you’re looking for more Disney treats check out our Apple Pie Caramel Apples, Pumpkin Pie Milkshake and Churro Funnel Cake.

Our Favorite Fall Beignets

We sure do love Disney treats, and over the years we’ve tried to come up with as many copycat versions.

More than anything, we love going to the parks and enjoying all the goodies, but since we can’t always be there, we like to bring some of the magic home. We’ve tried many of the different beignet recipes at the parks, and a favorite is the pumpkin version. We tried our own version and fell in love!

For ours, we modified our classic Mickey beignet recipe and also made a cinnamon vanilla caramel sauce that made them even more addicting. If you’re looking to bring some Disney magic sprinkled with fall, these are the goodies to try!

How to Make Pumpkin Beignets

Beignets are not the quickest treat – but trust me when I say they’re WORTH IT!! Let’s get started…

YEAST. Add 3/4 cup warm water to a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 tsp yeast on top and stir to dissolve. Allow the yeast to activate (about 5 minutes).

WET INGREDIENTS. In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), add the sugar, egg, salt, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, heavy cream and shortening. Mix to combine.

COMBINE. Pour in the activated yeast and mix.

FLOUR. Add the flour to the mix. Use the dough hook attachment on a stand mixer and mix on medium speed until all of the ingredients are combined and dough is smooth but still slightly sticky.

RISE. Form a ball with the dough and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

HEAT OIL. Use a deep sided heavy pot and add 3 inches of vegetable oil. Heat over medium high heat until oil reaches 370°F (cooler than this won’t cook the beignets fast enough and hotter than this will burn them quite easily).

ROLL OUT. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick. Use Mickey Cookie cutter to cut out Mickey-shaped pieces of dough.

FRY. Working in batches fry the beignets until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.

DUST. Use tongs to remove the beignets from the hot oil. Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. While the beignets are still warm, dust them completely with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Recipe Tips + Tricks

Making your own pumpkin pie spice is super easy. Most people already have the different spices in their cupboards. You can find the recipe HERE.
Be sure to buy plain pumpkin PUREE
Don’t rush the rise time. Your patience will be rewarded!
Maintain a constant oil temperature, about 370 degrees F, by frying in small batches.

Shape: the signature Mickey Mouse ear silhouette screams Disney. Pumpkin is a signature flavor of fall. Put the two together and you’ve got one irresistible treat! Of course, if you don’t have a Mickey Mouse shaped cookie cutter, simply use a similarly sized cookie cutter in another shape. You can even use the top of a glass cup to stamp out a circle or use a pizza cutter to create evenly sized squares. No matter what shape you use, if you love pumpkin, you’ll love these delicious beignets.

Dips: The sugar and spice coating on the beignets is pretty much all you need, but if you really want to put this dish over the top try dipping them in a vanilla anglaise sauce. The recipe is included in the post with the regular version of Mickey beignets. You can also dip these pumpkin beignets in white chocolate sauce or fudge sauce.

How to Make Ahead + Store

Making ahead of time: As with most fried foods, these are best when eaten right out of the pan. However, you can keep them warm in the oven for a bit before serving. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with paper towels. As the batches of beignets finish, place them on the cookie sheet in the oven. They’ll stay warm and fresh for about 30 minutes.

You can also make the dough ahead of time to be fried later. Prepare the dough as directed. Store in one of two ways depending on how far in advance you want to make these:

Up to 3 days in advance: Spray the bowl and place the dough ball inside. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. The dough will slowly rise in the fridge. Allow the dough to come to room temperature before rolling and frying.
2-3 hours in advance: Prepare the recipe through cutting the shapes. Place the cut beignets on a tray and cover with plastic wrap. (you may want to spray one side of the plastic wrap to keep it from sticking to the beignets) Place the shaped dough in the fridge for Up to 2 ½ hours. Allow the dough to come to room temperature before frying.

Leftovers: These are best fresh, but I wont say no to a leftover! You can keep leftovers, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1-2 days before they begin to grow stale. For longer storage, wrap each beignet with plastic wrap and place them together in a freezer safe container. Freeze for 1-2 months.

Reheat: To reheat them quickly just pop one in the microwave for a few seconds. You can also reheat them in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes.