American Dessert Recipe:Cream Puffs

Ingredients

Puffs

1

cup water

1/2

cup butter or margarine

1

cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

4

eggs

Eggnog Fluff Filling, if desired

1

package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

1

cup milk

1

teaspoon rum extract

1

teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4

teaspoon ground ginger

2

cups whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Peppermint Whipped Cream Filling, if desired

2

cups whipping cream

1/4

cup granulated or powdered sugar

1

teaspoon peppermint extract

5

or 6 drops red or green food color

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Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 400ºF. In 2 1/2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth.
• 2 On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes.
• 3 Make one of the fillings (directions below). Cut off top third of each puff and pull out any strands of soft dough. Fill puffs with filling; replace tops. Cover; refrigerate until serving. Store covered in refrigerator.
  
  Eggnog Fluff Filling: In large bowl, beat pudding mix, milk, rum extract, nutmeg and ginger with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Add whipping cream; beat on high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush tops with light corn syrup and sprinkle with colored sugar or nonpareils.
  
  Peppermint Whipped Cream Filling: In large bowl, beat ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

EXPERT TIPS

A little puff pointer: Make sure the cooked dough is still warm when you drop it onto the cookie sheet. Not to worry, it’s supposed to be a little sticky and paste-like.
Omit the filling and frosting, and fill with ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, berries or whipped cream. Dust with powdered sugar, or drizzle with purchased chocolate sauce.