Cream Puffs

1 cup water

½ cup margarine or butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Fillings (below)

Heat oven to 400°. Heat water and margarine to rolling boil in 1-quart saucepan. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Drop dough by scant ¼ cupfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool. Cut off tops of puffs; pull out any filaments of soft dough. Fill puffs with one of the Fillings; replace tops. 10 to 12 cream puffs.

EGGNOG FLUFF FILLING

1 package (3¾ ounces) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon rum flavoring

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Blend pudding and pie filling, milk, rum flavoring, nutmeg and ginger in large mixer bowl on low speed. Add whipping cream; beat on high speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Fill puffs. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate no longer than 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush tops with light corn syrup and sprinkle with nonpareils.

ICE-CREAM FILLING

Fill cooled puffs with peppermint, pistachio or vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately or cover and freeze no longer than 24 hours; let stand a few minutes at room temperature before serving. Serve with Hot Fudge Sauce (below) or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

PEPPERMINT WHIPPED CREAM FILLING

Beat 2 cups whipping cream, ¼ cup granulated or powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and 5 or 6 drops red or green food color in chilled bowl until stiff. Fill puffs. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate no longer than 4 hours. Serve with Hot Fudge Sauce (below).

Hot Fudge Sauce

 

1 can (13 ounces) evaporated milk

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat evaporated milk, chocolate chips and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture boils. Remove from heat; stir in margarine and vanilla. Pour into jars; cover tightly. Refrigerate no longer than 4 weeks. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream. 3 cups sauce.

Note: To freeze unbaked cream puff dough, place mounds of dough in freezer, uncovered. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Store in freezer bags in freezer no longer than 1 month. To bake, heat oven to 400°. Bake frozen puffs 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, 45 to 50 minutes. To freeze baked puffs, wrap, label and freeze no longer than 3 months. Thaw unwrapped at room temperature about 30 minutes.

 

It is a quote. Betty Crocker’s New Christmas Cookbook 1993