Cream Puff Education

I don't make cream puffs very often, but whenever I do I think, "Man, I should make these more often." They have, of course, endless possibilities for dinner and dessert. For this particular batch of cream puffs I used chicken salad for dinner, ice cream raspberry for dessert. The next day I used egg salad for lunch and banana split for dessert. They store so easily in a ziploc bag in the cupboard, but they also freeze really well if you wanted them much later.
There are lots of theories on keeping cream puffs from collapsing when you take them out of the oven. I recommend making sure you mix your batter thoroughly (your arm will almost fall off) and bake them all the way. Don't be tempted to take them out early, the egg needs the full 25 minutes. You can put a slit in the top of each puff with a knife as soon as you take them out. This lets the steam out and helps them keep their shape. Enjoy!

Husband Rating: 3 1/2 stars

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

Preheat oven to 400. In a saucepan heat water and butter until they are boiling. Reduce heat to low and dump in flour. Stir for 1 minute, until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. (This stage reminds me of playdough!) Beat in eggs one at a time until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Use an ice cream scoop to place dough on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow puffs to cool before filling. Slice the top of each puff and fill with your favorite cold filling.


This is how the puffs look just after being placed on a greased cookie sheet. They will get pretty big, so be sure to give yourself enough room between puffs. This recipe makes 12 large or 24 mini cream puffs.


Golden and delicious!!


For dinner they are stuffed with chicken salad. I used canned chicken, mayo, ranch, spinach, tomatoes, onions and a squeeze of mustard.


For dessert I used a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries from the garden drizzled in chocolate syrup.
A day later I made banana split cream puffs, but forgot a picture. Fill the puff with whipped cream, sliced strawberries and sliced bananas. Drizzle with chocolate. These make a beautiful dessert for guests, they just look to die for.

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