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November 18, 2024
"Mes de los Muertos"

Rough Times Café: Cheap Luxury: Aunt Grace's Puffs

By Lydia Manx

There are certain comfort foods we make quickly, others we pick up at the local fast food restaurant that help a bad week turn around. The past few weeks have been filled with dismal news and more on the horizon. I decided to make Cream Puffs this past weekend. It's not a quick snack you toss in the oven and are rewarded in twenty minutes, but uses a skill set I have from working in restaurants over the years.

The basic puff recipe has been in my family since before I was born. You don't have to make the lush decadent cream puffs with the dough; you can also use them to make small appetizer size bites -- or stuffed with good quality ice cream, and topped with chocolate sauce, to make profiteroles.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup margarine or butter
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs

STEPS

  1. Boil water and butter in large skillet.
  2. Add flour and cook until pulls away from sides of pan.
  3. Allow to cool 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
  5. Pipe into desired shape or size (rounded balls long tubes). Tap lightly with a water dipped finger tip.
  6. Cook 20 minutes at 450 degrees

Lower temperature to 350 degrees and cook 40 minutes until golden brown. Remove immediately when golden brown and put on wire cooling rack. I slice a thin cut in middle to let the heat escape.

Once cooled, slice top open and fill as desired.

Filling for dessert:

Ice cream with chocolate topping
Custard and whipped cream
Whipped cream and chocolate

Filling of choice for appetizers:

Egg salad
Tuna salad
Ham salad

.

Article © Lydia Manx. All rights reserved.
Published on 2009-02-09
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