Delectable Creme Puffs...I love the word "puffs"

I spent a semester in Belgium in 2007 along with a few others from my school, Northeastern University. My roomate, Teddy, and our 2 girlfriends Sandra and Tracey have all kept in pretty good touch since returning to the states. Every so often, we have a little get together to catch up and get drunk and eat fattening foods. We've had homemade pasta ravioli (i make pasta! watch out world!), a fondue party, holiday brunch, etc...

This is a bit of a digression about how important it is to get together with friends, if you just want the recipe and technique for $4 Creme Puffs, just skip this part:

Getting together with a few of your friends with inexpensive wine is a really healthy habit to get into, I say. It's good for you to get out (especially during these cold winter months) and socialize, and doing it at someone's home really makes it an affordable thing to do. Sometimes keeping in touch with friends is hard, and as everyday life takes over it falls by the wayside. It really does make a difference in your life, though, to keep up with friends and family and make sure those relationships stay strong. After all, that's what's important in life! (A little sappy, but it's seriously true). I try hard to maintain my friendships because when all is said and done, friends are the people that love you rich or poor, fat or thin, happy or sad...

So, now that that's over, I can tell you what we ate. Tracey decided to do fajitas. I always love to bring dessert, so I suggested I'd make something spanish-mexican-texmexish to go with the theme. I found out that cream puffs are kind of a Spanish thing. I don't even know how that's the case, but it may or may not be. Anyways, I decided to go for it. I had never made them before but after cross referencing The Joy of Cooking with allrecipes.com and a Barefoot Contessa recipe from foodnetwork.com...and find, an Alton Brown recipe, but I hate him so I don't even like to give him any credit (for the record I didn't use his recipe), I decided I could do this...and I could do it for UNDER $5. Here's how (from The Joy of Cooking):

Creme Puffs are made from a dough called "choux" which is French for "cabbages" - The Joy of Cooking says this is because the little dollops of paste expand in the oven to resemble tiny cabbage heads. I would say that's a stretch. It can be made sweet or savory, but that's for another day.

This dough is cooked on top of the stove and then shaped and baked. The paste must cool a bit before you add the eggs, so that you don't cook the eggs in the pastry. If the dough is too cold, however, your eggs will not incorporate properly. The finished paste should be shiny, smooth, and very thick but not stiff.

Choux Paste (creme puff dough - this makes between 15-30 puffs depending on the size)

1 c. all purpose flour ($.15)
1 c. water or milk (I use water because it's FREE) ($.37 if you use organic milk)
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into small pieces (if you only have salted just omit the salt from recipe) ($.70)
1 T sugar ($.02)
1/2 t. salt (<$.01) 4 eggs at room temperature (if I don't have time to wait, I just put the eggs in a cup of warm water for a few minutes - like, while you're doing the dough) ($1.16 - organic)

1. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
   
2. Measure out the flour and put it aside.
3. Combine all other ingredients (water/milk, butter, sugar, salt) in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium heat.
   
4. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The mixture won't look smooth, but just keep stirring fast. In a few minutes the paste will become dry and won't stick to your spooin or the pan, and when the spoon is pressed on it lightly it will leave an indentation. Do not overcook or overstir at this point because the puff won't puff in the oven.
   
5. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.
6. Add one egg at a time, beating rigorously or on low speed with a mixer (I used a kitchenaid stand mixer, but I know we don't all have them. Only use your handmixer if it has a REALLY low setting, or else this is better done by hand I think). Make sure the paste is really smooth each time you add an egg so that you can be sure each egg is fully incorporated. This is important.
7. Continue to beat with each egg until the dough is smooth and shiny. The proper consistency is when a small quantity of dough will stand erect if scooped up on the edge of a spoon.
8. You can now either put the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe out little mounds on a sheet (covered in parchment paper or a silicone baking mat - this is a must, they will stick) or spoon them out and pat down the spikes on top with wet fingertips (this is what I did).
9. Bake them at 400 for 10 minutes and then lower the oven to 350 and allow to bake for 25 more minutes or until they're golden brown and very firm to the touch. As soon as you take them out of the oven poke them with a small knife to let the steam out (if you don't the steam will come out and make them soggy).
10. Let them cool completely before adding the filling (whipped cream or pastry cream...recipe follows)

Total Price for Puffs $2.04...$2.41 with organic milk.

scrimpyTips:

- This dough can be refigerated up to 4 hours and does not need to be brought to room temperature before you bake it.
- You can fill these with whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream, or even cool ship in a pinch...I'm posting whipped cream and pastry cream recipes in my next post...just have to get my little peanut down for a nap!