Not being a fan of things overly sweet, nor chocolate; cream puffs are one of my top 3 favorite desserts. I didn't grow up getting them very often as my Mom will tell you she "cannot make" them. However, her sister (my Aunt) could make them perfectly! So any time we went to my Grandma's house I hoped my Aunt would have made them. They were usually filled with vanilla pudding and to this day, I prefer a mixture of half vanilla pudding and half whipped cream as the filling. The basic puff recipe is simple; flour, water, eggs and butter. However, I do sway from my Aunt's recipe by adding a dash of salt and teaspoon of sugar - which are optional.
Cream Puffs
1 stick real butter
1 cup water
1 c flour
dash salt
1 t sugar
4 eggs
Pour the water into a heavy sauce pan on the stove, add the butter in cubes and turn the heat on high. Bring to a boil, melting the butter. Add the dash of salt and bit of sugar if you are using. Turn heat down to medium. Add the flour all at once and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until it comes together in the center of the pan and forms a ball. Remove pan from heat and let it set a moment. Add eggs one at a time, beating by hand or with an electric mixer until each addition to the batter is no longer glossy. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or grease/butter it. You can use a pastry bag to do perfect little balls if you wish, but I typically just use a large spoon and spoon mounds onto the parchment. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 375 and bake an additional 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 300 degrees and leave them bake about 10 minutes more. Let the puffs cool completely before filling with your choice of filling; pudding, whipped cream, ricotta fillings, etc. I prefer half vanilla pudding and half whipped cream. The insides should be hallow if they raised and baked correctly, but if they still have some dough inside, just pull it out as you break and fill each puff.
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