Deep-fry

In this method, potatoes and oil begin cooking together at room temperature, totally defying all the rules of deep-frying.

You'll impress everyone with these flaky, puffy doughnuts.

Cinnamon, cardamom, and freshly ground black pepper lend warm spice to these sweet fritters.

The classic treat gets a double dose of cider goodness from a syrupy reduction that is both mixed into the dough and used for the shiny glaze.

Sparkling cider, rather than sugar, gives our batter its touch of sweetness. The cider also ramps up the apple flavor and adds to the beignets' lovely golden hue.

These lacy, savory, funnel-cake-like squiggles, made with the mild Swiss cheese known as Appenzeller, are unbelievably light because of the carbonation of the beer in the batter. They are wonderful when hot — and they're still amazing at room temperature or even a few days later (if you can keep them around for that long).