In all my years of cooking
and baking I have never once attempted cream puffs, until now. They always struck me as something that might
be difficult to make and, as I don’t do well with failure, passed them by. Finding a recipe for pumpkin custard that just
screamed “cream puffs,” I decided to put my fears
aside and give them a try. Now I’m
kicking myself for not attempting them sooner.
They are so easy I couldn’t believe it.
In fact, I made additional puffs and froze them for filling with chicken
or crab salad at a later date. Give
these a try. If you don’t have a stand
mixer, just whip with a frenzy with your hand mixer. My mother has been doing this for years and
her cream puffs are always perfect.
Cream Puffs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment.
Crack eggs into a bowl; set aside.
In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour,
sugar, and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to the bowl
of a stand mixer. Set mixture at
medium-low speed and beat in vanilla.
Then add the eggs all at once and immediately move to medium speed. Mix until the dough is
tacky and starts sticking to the side of the bowl, about 2-3 min. That’s it!
You can use a small cookie scoop, or just use a heaping
tablespoon of dough for each puff. Bake
exactly 20 minutes and then poke a small hole with a toothpick in the side of each
puff. Return to oven and bake until golden brown (watch them), 2-3 additional minutes. Centers should be dry. When the shells are
cool, either split and fill them with the custard mixture, or use a pastry bag
to pipe it into the shells.
Pumpkin Custard
5 heaping tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
5 heaping tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups pumpkin purée
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
Whisk flour and milk together and pour into a medium saucepan. Whisking constantly, cook over medium-high
heat until thick; cool. When mixture is
cool, whisk in the remaining ingredients.
Chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
Fill cream puffs. Dust with
confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
This post is linked to:
Hi...cream puffs are my signature dessert so I had to stop by and read your post.....I can tell you how to even make these easier and quicker to make.....especially this time of year.....Buy a package of Jello pumpkin spice instant pudding....I stock up as it's only sold at the holidays.....whip a 1/2 pint of heavy cream until it turns into whipped cream....don't over beat or it will turn back to liquid.....in another bowl mix the pudding with 1 cup of cold milk until it's well blended....then fold the pudding mix into the whipped cream.....it is fabulous and saves you time and all those other ingrediants.....and for something different that people go crazy over....try the same thing only use pistachio instant pudding with the whipped cream....
ReplyDelete