Cream Puffs

Wow! I can believe that it has been almost three weeks since my last post! It has definitely been a very filled three weeks- I went to NYC for my sister's 30th birthday (which was an absolute blast- we went to see Wicked, went dancing, did some major sight seeing, and best of all visted 4 cupcakeries...all in little over 24 hours)! Then the hubster and I moved into our first place together (memories...). We are now in a two-bedroom apartment, which is wonderful, because our things were not going to fit into my small, one-bedroom. And I think there is just something nice about not being in "my place" or "his place" but "our place." Though I have to say Ninja- is not appreciating that he has is "own" bedroom- he finds solace in knowing that the three of us should fit into one bed, so we can all be together...and you know what?! I love that about him :)

And then lastly, I got HORRIBLY sick- I am not sure what happened, but one minute I was fine and the other- I felt like my stomach was going to kill me. Thankfully, after going to the doctor's, the hubby taking care of me and my parents checking in on me- I felt much better. But in all that chaos- I had almost no time to cook. The truth is- I think that even if I was free and healthy- Im not sure I would have had time- like I've mentioned before- this semester has been a time consuming one- I barely have enough energy to drive home and when I get home- I literally pass out. I have more fun news to share...but since I have three posts- Ill take the time to spread it out ;)

Anywhoo, on to the food. This weekend brought a dog park BBQ get together- which I am always a big fan of. As school only becomes more stressful its nice to have nice company and enjoy yummy food. Well- its potluck style- and I knew that after three long weeks...I just had to do some baking and cooking! The question was what dessert(s) to bake? I was thinking more along the lines of an appitizer size dessert- and what did I come up with? Cream puffs. I have not yet made anything like it and seemed well enough in my comfort zone.

CREAM PUFFS

Adapted from Joy of Baking and All Recipes

INGREDIENTS

Preheat ove to 350F degrees

PASTRY

1c all purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick of butter

1 c. of hot water

3 eggs

GLAZE

1 egg

FILLING

1 3.5oz package of vanilla pudding

2 c. of heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

GARNISH

Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and then add hot water- bring to boil. Remove from heat and with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture all at once- stir until combined. Transfer dough to electric mixer and beat on low speed to release steam from dough (about 1 minute). Lightly beat eggs and add to dough (the dough will separate and then come together), continue to mix unitl you have a smooth, thick paste. Pipe 24 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet. Make sure the mounds are about 1-2 inches apart. Gently brush the tops of the dough with the lightly beaten egg (for glaze).  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and dry when split. Poke a few holes, using a toothpick, in each puff. And let completely cool. For filling- combine pudding, whipping cream and vanilla.

To assemble cream puffs- cut each shell in half (I found the best way to do this was to use cooking scissors) and fill with vanilla filling. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy,

Chika