Virtual Cookie Exchange-Cream Puffs

Staci Troilo posted on her blog (click here) a virtual cookie exchange. I just had to join.

Cream Puffs are a family favorite. My husband, childern, and my dad love them. I get asked to make them all the time, especially for special occasions and the holidays. I often hear they are difficult to make, but they are easier than you think.

Before starting, read the recipe in its entirety and get out the necessary equipment and ingredients. This ensures you have what you need before you start and keeps you from running around. For this recipe, you need a pastry bag, a pastry tip, and parchment paper. (Don’t worry if you don’t have the pastry bag and tip, you can use a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon.)

Let’s get started.

 

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Before I make my cream puffs, I make my filling. This will give it time to cool. I use a standard pastry cream, but you can use whatever you like. Perhaps vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, jam, or ice cream. The possibilities are totally up to you.

Cream puffs are always made the same way. Water and butter are brought to a boil in a saucepan then flour is stirred in all at once. The dough that forms is stirred and cooked for a few minutes until it leaves the sides of the pan. Then, off the heat, eggs are beaten in, one at a time, until the dough is shiny, glossy, and sticky.

Fill your pastry bag and pipe your cream puffs two inches apart onto trays lined with parchment paper, smooth the tops with your finger (dip your finger in water to keep the pastry from sticking) and bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. The puffs will be a golden brown color.

I fill my cream puffs by cutting them in half. You could pierce the bottom of the puff with your pastry tip and then pipe in the filling, but it is easier and faster to cut them in half and spoon in the filling.

 

Before serving, I top the filled cream puffs with a dusting of powdered sugar. That adds that little extra touch that makes them special.

Perhaps you don’t want powdered sugar on top of your cream puffs. You can make a chocolate sauce and drizzle it over the top.

Chocolate Sauce Recipe
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (I use chocolate chips)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until the chocolate has melted and everything is combined.

That was easier than you thought. Download the Cream Puff Recipe for your holiday baking. (Click Here)

Don’t forget to visit Staci Troilo’s Virtual Cookie Exchange.