Coconut Shrimp Beignets with Pepper Jelly Sauce

I couldn't tell you where I got this recipe, but it's so worth the trouble of heating oil and frying these bad boys up!  With Mardi Gras tomorrow, this month's meal them is Fat Tuesday Favorites.  Check back Mondays this month for recipes for your own fabulous festival foods.

Vegetable oil

1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup apple jelly

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper

2 cups flour

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 12-ounce bottle amber beer (I used Yuengling)

In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the apple jelly, cider vinegar, mustard and hot sauce and cook until the jelly is melted. Pour the pepper jelly sauce into a serving dish.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook until pink, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a papertowel- lined plate and let cool.

Fill a heavy, medium saucepan halfway with oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 360° on a deep-fat thermometer. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together the flour, coconut, scallions, baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk in the beer and 1/4 cup water. Stir the shrimp into the batter.

Using two soup spoons, scoop some shrimp and batter into one spoon, then, with the other spoon, scrape the batter into the hot oil. Fry 6 beignets at a time, turning once, until puffy and light brown, 1 minute on each side. Transfer the beignets to a paper-towel-lined plate; season with salt. Serve hot with the pepper jelly sauce.

Serves 4 as a main dish or 8-10 as an appetizer.