Grandma’s Cream Puffs

Late last year, my Mom moved into a new house in the town I grew up in. She took some time settling in, got a new puppy, and picked a date for a house warming. That day was this Sunday and she couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day!

Kori and I showed up early to help mom setup and to make something very special–my grandmother’s cream puffs. While I don’t remember my grandmother making these for me as a kid since she was diabetic and very sick for most of my memorable life, my mom says they were one of her classic recipes. Mom told us stories about making these with her brother when she was a kid, so I know this really must have been a classic.

As my sister and I worked together to make the dough (there was A LOT of adding cold eggs to cooked dough or custard, so four hands were needed!) I thought about how this recipe connected me back to my grandmother, a woman who I was very close to but never had the opportunity to bake with. I thought about her life, and what she would think if she could see me now. I think we would enjoy baking together just like I enjoyed baking with my sister today.

And there’s just something about reading an old recipe and seeing it work out today. There are some things that never change, and awesome cream puffs are one of them!

Grandma’s Cream Puffs

Ingredients:

For Puffs:

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

For filling:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs

semi sweet chocolate, melted, for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup water and 1/2 cup butter. Cook until butter is melted and mixture is lightly boiling. Remove from heat and add flour, stiring until dough just comes together. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. After all eggs are added, mix until the batter is smooth. Scoop tablespoons of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving plenty of room between each. Place cookie sheets into oven and bake for 40 minutes until batter is well puffed and golden brown.

While the puffs are cooking, make the filling. Combine sugar, flour, salt and milk in a large saucepan. Cook, on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and boil. Allow mixture to boil for about one minute, then remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk two eggs. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. Whisk tempered eggs into the rest of the egg mixture. Place back on the heat, cooking until the mixture is just boiling. Transfer custard to a bowl and allow to cool in the fridge.

When shells and custard are cool, fit a pastry bag with a large round open tip and fill the bag with custard. Use the tip to gently poke a whole in the side of each shell and fill with custard. Once all shells are filled, top with melted semi sweet chocolate. Serve while they’re fresh…they’re amazing!

And watch Larry around the cream puffs…he will steal them with chopsticks!

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