Christmas Goodie Countdown Day 5 -- Cream Puffs, Gougeres, Profiteroles

New: Christmas Goodie Countdown Day 5 -- Cream Puffs, Gougeres, Profiteroles 
What's up: Caramel Popcorn, Homemade Almond Marshmallows, English Toffee

Cream puffs, gougeres, profiteroles, choux pastry—what’s the difference? They’re all essentially the same things, but gougeres are savoury so they’re baked with things like cheese or black pepper whereas cream puffs or profiteroles are usually sweet, and usually have fillings like pastry cream, chocolate, or ice cream. Choux pastry is the name for the dough that is used to make the puff pastry.

Christmas Goodie Countdown Menu 

1. Christmas Cookies 

2. English Toffee 

3. Homemade Marshmallows 

4. Caramel Popcorn 

5. Cream Puffs 

6. Nut Brittle & Fruit and Nut Thins 

7. Surprise! 

Golden, airy cream puffs

No matter what you put in them, they taste great. Sweet or savoury, the flavours always work perfectly with that light, airy puff created through this strange cooking technique. To make the dough, you basically cook and steam the flour, butter and water mixture. It’s surprisingly easy and the best part is watching the sticky, flat dough rise into beautiful, puffy balls. 

Choux Pastry Recipe

Makes: about 24
Oven: 440F
Rating: 4/5


Ingredients

• 1 cup water 
• 8 tbsp butter 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 cup flour 
• 4 eggs 

Filling

• 1/2 cup cream cheese 
• A few teaspoons of your favourite flavouring (I used ranch/dill dressing powder).  

Choux pastry

Instructions 

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt and butter, bring to a boil. 
2. Bring the heat down to medium and slowly stir in the flour, stirring until the dough forms (about 2- 3 minutes). It takes on a shiny, smooth texture when it’s ready and a light film of starch forms on the bottom of the pan. 
3. Next, transfer the cooked dough into a mixer and add the eggs one by one, beating on medium speed until the mixture has cooled down and is just warm. 
4. If you are adding ingredients into the dough, add them now. 
5. Once the dough is well mixed, fill a pastry bag with a ½ to 1-inch tip and pipe about a tablespoon of pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also just scoop tablespoon of the pastry directly on to the sheet. 
6. Bake for about 8 minutes at 440F then decrease the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. 
7. The choux pastry should be a golden colour when done. 
8. While the pastry is baking, you can make your filling. Combine the cream cheese and flavouring together. Beat together until well combined. Set aside. 
9. If adding a filling or a dusting of icing sugar on top, allow the puffs to cool first. 
10. When adding the filling, you can either cut the cream puffs in half and add a dollop of filling, or you can make a small hole with the end of your piping tip and squeeze filling into the cream puff until you feel resistance 

Enjoy! 

Notes

• If making the savoury gougeres version, you can add the cheese, herbs, or spices directly into the dough when mixing.
• If the fillings are too much for you, add a dusting of cocoa powder or icing sugar for a clean, but simple look. 

Dill cream cheese-filled cream puffs

Savoury filling ideas

Cream cheese & ranch/dill/chives etc. 

Buffalo sauce

Chicken/shrimp/egg salad 

Sweet filling ideas

Chocolate/lemon/strawberry cream

Vanilla whipped cream

Custard

Ice cream

Fresh fruit

Jams

Hazelnut-chocolate filling (Nutella)