Homemade Cream Puffs

It happens to all of us sooner or later. We discover that we have a friend who (gasp) doesn’t like chocolate. I know, it truly boggles the mind. Don’t worry. There’s no need to get new friends. Simply expand your culinary horizons with the super-versatile cream puff.

If you’ve never tried making cream puffs before, you’re in for a treat; the process is only marginally harder than making boiled water.

HOMEMADE CREAM PUFFS

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 ¼ cups flour

4 large eggs

1 small box instant pudding mix

1 ½ cups milk

1 can fruit pie filling

Powdered sugar

Directions:

Fire up your stove to 375 degrees (yep, it really does go that high) and dig out a medium saucepan. Cut the butter into pieces and drop them in the pan. Add the salt and water, and then crank up the heat. Twiddle your thumbs and enjoy some coffee until the butter water comes to a full, rolling boil.

Turn off the heat; dump in the flour all at once and stir until you have a big ball of glossy dough chasing your spoon around the pan. Let this dough rest for about five minutes.

The cream puff dough gets a break, but you don’t; not yet. Whisk the pudding mix and milk together in a small bowl for two minutes, and then stick it in the fridge. What flavor, you ask? Whatever you like. Vanilla is always a good choice, and cheesecake flavor makes the simplest dessert seem decadent. Go with whatever your tastebuds dig.

Back to the dough we go. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat the heck out of the mixture after each addition. You should end up with a soft(ish) dough that holds its shape. If you have a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, groovy. Put the cream puff dough in that. If you haven’t got such a critter, no sweat. Line your largest baking sheet with parchment and start dropping blobs of dough on it — by the spoonful, in piped mounds, or drawn into small ropes for an éclair effect. The puffs will spread a bit as they bake, but they can tolerate a little crowding.

Stick the sheet into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. The finished puffs will be golden brown with a hint of shine and feel really light for their size. Set the pan on a rack and let the puffs cool completely before filling.

Ready to fill? Neat! Pop open a can of fruit pie filling (once again, go with whatever floats your boat) and get that bowl of pudding. Using a serrated knife and a very gentle sawing motion, slice the tops off the puffs. Drop a dab of fruit filling in the bottom of each puff, top with a spoonful of pudding, and replace the “lids.” Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

— Have a question or suggestion for Bite Sighs? Email Audrey Lintner at bitesighs@hotmail.com.