Cream Filled Seafood Puffs

CRAB PUFFS

Steps:

• Make sure to thaw puff pastry before starting. Carefully unfold the puff pastry sheets as soon as they are thawed. (If puff pastry has to wait for you to make the filling, cover it with a couple of sheets of damp paper towel to keep from drying out.)
• Preheat the oven to 400­° and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
• Dice onion, bell pepper, and mince garlic. Preheat a small cooking pan over medium heat and sauté onion and bell pepper with a little bit of olive oil.
• When the veggies are completely softened, mix in garlic, and let it cook until fragrant. Transfer cooked veggies into a mixing bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients for the filling to the mixing bowl with veggies and use a spatula or a fork to mix everything thoroughly.
• Roll out the puff pastry sheets to about 12x12 size squares. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut each puff pastry sheet into 16 squares each.
• Fit each square into the cup of the prepared mini muffin pan, forming a little cup out of the pastry square. (You will need to work in batches, so make sure to cover the pastry with damp paper towel in between batches to prevent it from drying out.)
• Fill each pastry square with slightly less than 1 1/2 tablespoons of crab mixture. (I use a #40 cookie scoop to get even amount each time and fill it slightly less than full.)
• Bake for about 17 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. (Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.)

SAVORY SHRIMP PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• In a mixer, combine flour, butter and cream cheese.
• Mix until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
• Add butter, onion and garlic and parsley to the pan on stove top. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the shrimp, along with some salt and pepper and mix together. Saute for another 1 minute.
• Combine cool water with flour until you have a smooth milky mixture.
• Add the flour water mixture to the pan, stir together a few times and put aside to cool before filling cups.
• Remove dough from the fridge and shape dough into 2 dozen 1-inch balls. Place each in a paper-lined or greased miniature (1 ¾"-inch) muffin cup.
• Press dough on bottom and sides of each cup.
• Scoop 1 tbsp of the cool shrimp filling and place inside each cup.
• Bake in a 365°F preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown and filling is set.
• Cool in pans on a wire rack.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet, in 2-inch diameter rounds or balls. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons water. Brush the surface of the rounds with the egg wash to knock down the points (you may not use all the egg wash). Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up, and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To fill the cream puffs, place a pastry tip on your finger and poke a whole in the bottom of each puff. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Pipe whipped cream into each cream puff and chill until ready to serve, no more than 4 hours.
• Notes about the recipe: The moisture in the eggs turns to steam and puffs the batter to try to release itself. You can fill them with anything.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
• When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

MINI CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• 1. Put water and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil until butter melts. Add salt.
• 2. Remove from heat and add flour and stir until smooth and return to heat and continue stirring until mixture forms a smooth mass, and the bottom on the pan is coated with a fine film. (this indicates that the flour is cooked)
• 3. Remove from heat and place mixture in the bowl of a food processor using the plastic dough blade. Add eggs one at a time, pulsing the batter until very smooth. (I started doing it this way when my shoulders would hurt so much from fibromyalgia that I couldn't beat the eggs in by hand any longer, now I wouldn't do it any other way)
• 4. Once the eggs have been incorporated into the dough it may be covered and left at room temperature for an hour or so.
• 5. Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Pipe dough with a pastry bag with 1/2 inch round tip onto parchment covered baking sheets, forming mounds 1 inch in diameter and 3/4 inch high. Lightly smooth the tops of each mound.
• 6. Bake for 10 minutes, Reduce heat to 375-degrees and continue baking until the puffs are golden brown about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325-degrees and bake until puffs are firm and the inside is not sticky or doughy.
• 7. Cool puffs on a wire rack. They may be used immediately or frozen in airtight container. To use, warm in a preheated oven for a few minutes.
• 8. SHRIMP AND CRAB FILLING: Toss together bread cubes, onions, melted butter and eggs. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• 9. Next day add celery, shrimp, crab and mayonnaise. Taste for seasoning. May need salt and pepper and a little lemon juice.
• 10. Use for filling mini cream puffs, canape`s or to make a sandwich with the filling. It is good enough to eat by itself. Bread extends the filling without compromising on flavor and taste.

SHRIMP CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• 1. Put hot water, butter, and salt in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir well until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Using a mixer, then add your eggs one at a time, beating after each egg very well. This step is very important. Drop by teaspoon onto baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 425º. Reduce oven temperature to 400º and bake for another 23 minutes. They should be slightly browned and this time could vary so keep checking them. Remove from oven and cool.
• 2. Mix all of the remaining ingredients together for the filling. Split the cream puffs when they are cool and fill with the filling mixture. Filling mixture keeps well in the fridge for several days.