Monday, April 28, 2008

Cream Puffs

These things are seriously so addictive and heavenly. And easy! Now, I'd better give credit where credit is due, so I will tell you that I got this recipe from my coworker's wife named Linda who got it from a Nora Roberts recipe or something along those lines. But I will tell you how I make them, which may differ from how they make them.

Remember, if you use sugar-free pudding, which I do, these are sugar-free treats! I will not mention the fat content. :)

Puffs:

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

In a saucepan, melt the butter in the water. I put it on high and watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. As soon as the butter is melted, take it off the heat. Stir in 1 cup of flour until it's sticking together and looks like a uniform ball of dough. Add all four eggs and stir. Keep stirring. Keep stirring. What happens here is that the eggs and dough take a while to stick together, but you'll know when you're done by the blended and sticky consistency. Seriously, just keep stirring.

Here I spoon the sticky mixture in one of those zipper sandwich baggies. I cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and start squeezing out the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I squeeze it into about 1.5 inch masses/shells/puffs. I can usually fit about 16 - 20 on a cookie sheet. With these quantities, you'll probably fill up two cookie sheets-worth.

Put the filled cookie sheets in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes. Watch them to make sure they don't get too brown. You'll want them to be golden or a little brown. When you take them out of the oven, I find that it is best to put them on a cooling rack right away. If you let them cool, then they start to stick to the cookie sheet.

Cream:

1 small package Cheesecake-flavored Jello pudding
1 small package White Chocolate-flavored Jello pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream

Add both of the pudding mixes to milk and blend for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add whipping cream and blend for another 2 minutes on medium.

Cut the top off of a puff and make sure the puff is hollow. Sometimes you have to pull out the middle and eat it. :) Spoon cream filling inside the puff and place the top back on. Be generous with the cream filling. This recipes makes a lot. Repeat for all puffs. Then eat them. Eat them all! And enjoy them. I know I do. People always request that I bring these for treats if I'm ever in charge of treats.

And seriously, the cream filling is the best combination of flavors, but go ahead and experiment if you desire. I've found that if I'm doing a regular chocolate filling that it's best to do one small package of chocolate and one small package of white chocolate.

Also, you can adjust the milk/cream quantities if you like a stiffer or less-stiff filling. Some people like to melt some chocolate and brush it on the top of the puffs. Some people like to make big eclairs/puffs (those cook for about 30 - 35 min). The world is your cream puff; do what you want.

7 comments:

Angela said...

Mmm! Sounds delicious!

Cardine said...

Food question because I just don't know:

If a recipe calls for white wine, is white grape juice a good substitute?

julie said...

Thanks for posting this recipe! I can't wait to have a decent kitchen in which to make cream puffs! They really are delicious, so it's nice to see that they are pretty easy to make. And, your tips are very beneficial. :)

I would just use water or chicken stock, depending what kind of a dish you're using. White grape juice may be too sweet.

Sean said...

I would say get some good white wine, and depending on the dish, you could use a few different substitutes. If you want the most authentic without the wine, I would say about 3/4 white grape juice, and then fill the rest with distilled white vinegar. But as a general rule, you will never get the same taste, and often not even close without using the white wine, and the alcohol cooks out when you do it anyway.

Cardine said...

Thanks for the suggestions, you guys!

Anonymous said...

White grape juice will work just fine, but like Sean said, when you use cooking wine, the alcohol will evaporate out during the cooking process anyway...besides..it's fun to find excuses why you've got wine in your basket when you run into home teachers in the store. ;)

Cardine said...

Okay, now I think I need to clarify: I didn't ask because I have a phobia of white wine or anything like that. I asked because I have white grape juice in my house and not white wine and I am stingy and lazy. If I don't have to go to the store to make a recipe, then I don't want to. :)

And this is coming from me who made my own sour cream with cream cheese, milk, and lemon juice. It turned out really well!