Today it’s raining and the temperature is dropping – a good day to stay inside and bake. Thought I’d make some cream puffs. They are a little more labor intensive than most desserts – especially if you bake the shells from scratch – but they are soooo good.

To make the puff pastry shells you need: 1 cup water, 1/2 cup real butter, 1 cup regular flour, and 4 large eggs.

Before you begin making the dough pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Now you want to bring the water and butter to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. To the boiling water/butter add in the flour (all at once) and stir vigorously over low heat until the mixture forms a ‘ball’ and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Once you reach this stage – remove from the heat.

You now add in the 4 eggs (all at one time) and continue beating until the mixture is smooth. This can be a little difficult and tiring to the arm. Now you’re ready to bake. Drop a scant 1/4 cup of the mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet – leave about 3 inches between each drop. When you have used all the dough, bake for approximately 35-40 minutes (or until golden and puffed). Remove baked puffs from the oven and allow to cool. You do not want to place them in a draft or use a fan for cooling. Once they are cool, slice off the tops with a sharp knife (be careful) and remove any doughy filaments that may be inside. This recipe should make 8-12 puffs depending on how ‘scant’ you make your drops.

Once cool, they’re ready to fill. I filled mine with sugar-free vanilla pudding – following the box directions for a pie. Fill each puff with a heaping tablespoon of pudding – more if you like and replace the top piece of the puff. I’ll drizzle the tops with a glaze made from Splenda.  However, I’ll make the glaze  ahead and not put it on until we’re ready to eat them. I find that frosting and glazes tend to make the top crust a little soggy. You’ll want to keep these refrigerated once filled. Another thought – if you don’t want to use frosting – a nice dusting of Splenda-powdered sugar works just as well.  Think I’ll start next on a pot of shrimp-gumbo soup for lunch tomorrow  . . . it’s always better the next day.   I’ll post that recipe on Monday - Have a good weekend!