Cream Puffs

Cream puffs are amazing! They are so versatile.....sweet or savory.....add chocolate mousse or chicken salad! The ones I made I filled with chocolate mousse. They were so yummy! And really thought they were a quick and easy treat to make. I got the recipe from Our Best Bites cookbook.... which by the way is awesome! I'm so in love with it!

The Recipe:

½ c. water
¼ c. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
½ c. flour
2 eggs

~Preheat your oven to 400. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir quickly with a spoon until dough forms a ball.

~Add one egg at a time, combining completely after each addition. The mixture will be very smooth and velvety
~Either drop the dough by scant teaspoons or spoon dough into a pastry bag and pipe them directly onto an un-greased baking sheet. Yes, teaspoons; they’ll puff up, but you also want them to be bite-sized. If you want larger cream puffs, you could use a cookie scoop to get a tablespoon of dough.  ( I tried some both ways and thought that he pastry bag way was not only easier, but they looked prettier and were easier to fill after they baked.)
~Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ( I don't know if my oven is like super super hot or what, but I only cooked them for about 17 minutes and they were perfect......so test yer oven!)



Chocolate Mousse:

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Tbsp. cold water
2 Tbsp. boiling water
½ c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
1 c. cold whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl. Let stand 1 minute to soften. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool slightly. Stir together ½ c. sugar and ¼ c. cocoa in a medium bowl. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until stiff. Pour in gelatin mixture and beat until well blended.


Refrigerate ½ hour and then spoon into icing bag.

This mousse is so good to just eat by itself too!

How to Fill:

Gently insert piping tip into the bottom of each pastry puff and squeeze filling into puff, being careful not to over-fill. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (or dip top in chocolate) and refrigerate until ready to serve. These are definitely better the next day, so it lightens your workload to be able to make these a day or two in advance if you’re throwing a party.

Strawberry Cheesecake

This cheesecake recipe is so delish! I got the recipe from my sister along time ago. It is super easy to make and very fast. And the straberry sauce I found on the Our Best Bites blog. I seriously sit with the container of it and eat it plain with a spoon!

Strawberry Sauce Recipe:

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar
1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and cut up some....if you want!
Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.
After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.


This sauce can be used on just about anything...I had it on my pancakes one morning.....so nice and refreshing!

Cheesecake Recipe:

1 8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/3 cup sugar
MIX WELL
1 cup sour cream
2 t vanilla
1 8 oz. cool whip- fold into the rest.

See so easy! Thow it in a graham cracker crust and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours and voila!