Basic Puff Recipe
This recipe will yield approximately 40 puffs.
Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups boiling water
2 cups flour
8 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine shortening, salt, and boiling water in a sauce pan and cook over high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Meanwhile, put your flour in a mixing bowl with the beater attachment*. Slowly pour the shortening/water mixture over the top of the flour as it is mixing. Continue to mix while adding 1 egg at a time and mixing thoroughly between eggs. Mix until dough is thick and shiny and breaks from a spoon.
**I have a Kitchen Aid mixer which works great. A hand mixer might have a hard time with the thickness of the dough. You could also mix by hand.**
Pipe or spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet (about the size of a golf ball). Try to keep the balls "tall" rather than wide as they will spread a little during baking. On my regular size baking sheet, I was able to drop them 3 across and 5 down (15 per sheet). Also, I did 2 sheets at a time in my oven, one over the top of the other. Bake the puffs for about 18 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15-20 more minutes. They're done when they have a nice golden brown color, and sound hollow when tapped.
Cool, then fill! You can slice the puffs in half completely, or just half way (my preference).
Savory, Shrimp Filling
This recipe will yield approximately 40 puffs.Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups boiling water
2 cups flour
8 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine shortening, salt, and boiling water in a sauce pan and cook over high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Meanwhile, put your flour in a mixing bowl with the beater attachment*. Slowly pour the shortening/water mixture over the top of the flour as it is mixing. Continue to mix while adding 1 egg at a time and mixing thoroughly between eggs. Mix until dough is thick and shiny and breaks from a spoon.
**I have a Kitchen Aid mixer which works great. A hand mixer might have a hard time with the thickness of the dough. You could also mix by hand.**
Pipe or spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet (about the size of a golf ball). Try to keep the balls "tall" rather than wide as they will spread a little during baking. On my regular size baking sheet, I was able to drop them 3 across and 5 down (15 per sheet). Also, I did 2 sheets at a time in my oven, one over the top of the other. Bake the puffs for about 18 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15-20 more minutes. They're done when they have a nice golden brown color, and sound hollow when tapped.
Cool, then fill! You can slice the puffs in half completely, or just half way (my preference).
Savory, Shrimp Filling
This will fill approximately 20 puffs.
Ingredients:
2 cans tiny shrimp
2 8 oz. bricks of softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 bunch sliced green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Mix ingredients in a bowl, then spoon or pipe into puffs. Mixture can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. However, for best results when filling puffs, the mixture should be allowed to sit out and soften prior to filling.
(Thanks for the recipe, MOM!)
Another fun idea on the savory side would be chicken salad (I have a recipe on the next post).
Vanilla Cream Filling
Yield - Approximately 20 puffs
Ingredients:
2 3.4 oz packages of instant vanilla pudding
3 cups heavy whipping cream*
*This will give you a super thick mixture, almost custard like, which will keep the cream from oozing out of the puff when you bite into it. However, if you prefer smoother filling, use 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk.
Directions:
Combine pudding and cream and allow to set up. It will only take a few minutes. Spoon or pipe into your puff shells, plate, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. If you've got the time, you could dip the top half of the cream puff into a dipping chocolate. Mmmm...
Piping tip - if you don't have a piping bag, simply use a ziplock bag! Fill the bag with your mixture, then cut a small piece off the bottom corner. Voila! I HIGHLY recommend piping the filling into the puffs. MUCH easier, cleaner, and faster than spooning...
Ingredients:
2 cans tiny shrimp
2 8 oz. bricks of softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 bunch sliced green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Mix ingredients in a bowl, then spoon or pipe into puffs. Mixture can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. However, for best results when filling puffs, the mixture should be allowed to sit out and soften prior to filling.
(Thanks for the recipe, MOM!)
Another fun idea on the savory side would be chicken salad (I have a recipe on the next post).
Vanilla Cream Filling
Yield - Approximately 20 puffsIngredients:
2 3.4 oz packages of instant vanilla pudding
3 cups heavy whipping cream*
*This will give you a super thick mixture, almost custard like, which will keep the cream from oozing out of the puff when you bite into it. However, if you prefer smoother filling, use 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk.
Directions:
Combine pudding and cream and allow to set up. It will only take a few minutes. Spoon or pipe into your puff shells, plate, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. If you've got the time, you could dip the top half of the cream puff into a dipping chocolate. Mmmm...
Piping tip - if you don't have a piping bag, simply use a ziplock bag! Fill the bag with your mixture, then cut a small piece off the bottom corner. Voila! I HIGHLY recommend piping the filling into the puffs. MUCH easier, cleaner, and faster than spooning...
2 comments:
Those look so good! I might have to give them a try!
I wish I had seen your recipe yesterday! I made a fresh cheese and shrimp cream and it would have been such a good combination with your cream puffs. I will definitely write down this recipe for future dinners and desserts.
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