Creep Puffs Food

CREEP PUFFS

Steps:

• Boil the water and butter in a pot. As it begins to really boil, stir in the flour and salt. As you stir, the mixture will form into a ball. Move that to a mixing bowl and fold in a beaten egg one at a time - mixing between each one.
• Drop by the tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet (non-stick is great too). Be sure to space them apart and place in a preheated, 425 degree oven. Bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes -- maybe longer). Let shells cool.
• When the shells are cool, using a pastry bag, fill the shells with Somebody's Mother's chocolate, caramel, or white chocolate sauces. To vary the recipe, you can fill the shells with ice cream and drizzle one or more of the sauces over the tops of the shells.

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:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit 1 large pastry bag (or a plastic freezer bag with 1/2" cut from one bottom corner) with plain 1/2" tip.
• Bring milk, butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add flour all at once; reduce heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and pulls away from sides of pan, 1-2 minutes. Continue beating vigorously until a thin dry film forms on bottom and sides of pot, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add 1 egg and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until egg is incorporated and dough looks dry again, about 2 minutes. Repeat with 4 more eggs, adding one at a time and stirring vigorously to incorporate before adding the next. Dough should be smooth, shiny, and thickened.
• Spoon dough into prepared pastry bag; pipe out 2 1/2"-diameter rounds on prepared sheets, leaving 2" between rounds. DO AHEAD: Freeze the piped dough rounds on the baking sheets, then transfer to resealable plastic bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing apart (do not defrost) before continuing with recipe.
• Arrange racks in upper and middle thirds of oven and preheat to 450°F. Whisk remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water and brush dough rounds all over with egg wash.
• Transfer baking sheets to oven; turn oven off. After 10 minutes, heat oven to 350°F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans front to back and top to bottom; continue baking until deep golden brown all over, about 10 minutes longer (puffs will deflate if removed from oven before fully baked). Transfer puffs to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, gently slice the top quarter off each puff; transfer tops to a plate. With your finger, gently push down the soft film of cooked dough inside each puff.
• Prepare a second pastry bag (or freezer bag) with 1/2" open-star tip. Beat heavy cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into prepared pastry bag. Fill each puff with cream, finishing with a generous ring of cream on top. Dust tops of cream puffs with powdered sugar; place atop puffs.

BASIC CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the center. Line two unrimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
• Make Pastry Cream, and refrigerate. Make Pate a Choux batter. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler or 1/2-inch (Ateco #806) tip, and pipe 1-inch rounds onto baking sheets at 2-inch intervals. Using fingers, rub egg wash over entire top, and flatten tips, being careful not to let it drip onto the surrounding baking sheet (it will inhibit rising). Sprinkle with crystal sanding sugar or chopped nuts, if desired.
• Cover one sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator. Transfer the other to the oven. Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until puffs are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool slightly. Raise heat back to 425 degrees, and repeat process for remaining batch.
• Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks in a small bowl. Stir pastry cream to soften. Add whipped cream to pastry cream in two batches; stir to combine after each. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and filling tip (Ateco #230). Insert tip into the underside of each cream puff, and fill. Cool completely before dusting with confectioners' sugar or applying icing.
• To make icing, combine sugar, butter, and water in a medium bowl. Stir until smooth. Add the food coloring a little at a time until desired color is reached. Dip the top of cooled cream puffs into icing; let excess drip off before turning over. Let set a few minutes; decorate with a dragee. Serve, or store up to 2 hours in an airtight container in the refrigerator.