Pecan and Salted Butterscotch Beignets with Bourbon Milk Ice

I love the comfort food of the South. Not that I’ve spent much time there, but my mother went to college in Tennessee and picked up many of the region’s recipes. Growing up, I also had several African American nannies who made us their own versions of soul food, so somehow Southern cuisine feels like a part of me. The following dessert starts with a French idea, pâte à choux, or little cream puffs. To give it a Southern touch, I’ve added bits of pecan to the dough, deep-fried the balls of b