Surprisingly, I don't make cream puffs terribly often, but every time I do I am reminded why they're such a fun dessert.  You can make these larger or smaller, depending on your preference, but you will have to adjust your baking time and make sure they're a nice golden brown.  Larger cream puffs definitely need longer in the oven to make sure they're firm and don't collapse on themselves during cooling.  An easy filling is just to use fresh whipped cream whipped with a spoonful of powdered sugar added to sweeten it a bit, but we especially love them with a vanilla or chocolate pastry cream.  Enjoy!

Make any size from this recipe!  Tiny cream puffs or larger ones.  Both work great!

Cream Puffs

Makes ~20 cream puffs, but it can make more/less depending on the size you pipe out

Make and cool filling of your choice.  I recommend a rich crème patissiere (vanilla pastry cream) (recipe below), or a rich chocolate pudding (chocolate pastry cream) (make it using 1/4 - 1/2 cup less milk for a bit thicker pudding). 

Crème Patissiere (Vanilla Pastry Cream): 

In a medium saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat over medium heat until just boiling: 

2 1/2 cup half & half OR whole milk

1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, mix together: 

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup half & half OR whole milk

Whisk the yolks/cornstarch mixture into the hot sugar/cream mixture.  Increase the heat to medium-high to speed up the process, but whisk constantly and rapidly.  Once the mixture thickens and starts to boil (I find it makes big, thick popping bubbles when done, and I quickly have to remove from heat to avoid getting burned), remove from heat and pour the pudding into a glass dish.  *If you find you have any lumps in your pudding, you can strain the pudding through a fine sieve to remove lumps as you put it into the glass dish. I find if I am trying to multi-task and forget to stir enough then this sometimes happens to me.*  

Cover the pudding with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the pudding.  Let cool at room temperature until it's cool enough to place in the refrigerator to completely chill.  (I like to make this in the morning if I need it chilled by evening, or you can make it the day before.  If you're in a rush, you can place the bowl into a larger bowl of ice to speed the cooling process). 

Choux Pastry (Pate a Choux):

Preheat oven to 360 F.  (I find somewhere between 350 - 375 works perfectly).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

In a medium sized saucepan (I prefer to avoid non-stick coated pans), heat the following over medium heat just until starting to boil: 

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup salted butter

1 tsp sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon: 

1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Put the pot back on the heat and stir vigorously over the heat for 2 - 3 minutes.  It should smooth a bit during this time.  (I do find the bottom of the pot ends up coated with a thin layer of dough, but soaking the pot makes clean up easy)

Be prepared for an arm workout during this step.  The dough is thick and sticky. 

Remove from heat and place the dough into a mixer.  Turn on the mixer speed to low.  Let the dough mix for ~5-10 minutes, scraping occasionally.  Your dough should look nice and shiny and be quite thick.  This helps the dough cool before adding your eggs.  

Add to the dough (one at a time ideally, or just all together if you lack patience - the main thing is to let the dough beat until it's really nice and smooth): 

4 large eggs, room temperature

You want to let the dough mix on medium to medium-high speed until it's really nice and smooth, scraping occasionally.  Scoop the dough into two freezer ziplocs one inside the other (not absolutely necessary, but it's quite a thick dough and I find this helps avoid having a bag split while piping).  Snip ~1" from the corner of the bag.  

After scraping down the bowl.  It's hard to tell in a photo, but there's a glossy sheen to the dough.

Pipe small blobs onto a parchment-lined baking pan.  You can make these smaller or larger, depending on your preference.  They puff up during baking, so make sure they're spaced far enough apart from each other.  If desired, you can dip a finger in water to gently push down and smooth the tops of the choux pastry.  Use sparingly - you don't want them to be too wet on top. 

If desired, beat 1 egg and brush the tops of the choux pastry before baking.  If you don't brush the tops with beaten egg, they don't end up as dark golden browned during baking.  I've done it both ways - and it's really just a look thing.  I think the golden brown you get from the egg wash is lovely.  Bake at 360 F for 20 - 35 minutes, until the cream puffs are nicely browned.  I find smaller cream puffs need only 20 minutes, but the larger ones need significantly more time until they're puffed and golden brown.  *Yes, 360 F.  I find 350 too low and 375 too high.  If your oven runs cool then bake at 375 F.* 

These cream puffs were baked without being brushed with an egg wash, so they ended up paler, but are just as crispy on the outside and soft on the inside as the ones brushed with egg. 

Remove from oven and immediately poke a hole in the bottom with a sharp knife before placing on a cooling rack.  This helps steam escape, so the cream puffs won't collapse on themselves.  It also makes it easier to pipe in filling later, if you're wanting to pipe it in neatly.  

Once cool, fill cream puffs with filling of your choice - some people even prefer them filled whipped cream instead of a vanilla or chocolate pastry cream.  Whatever you prefer is great! To fill, it's neatest to pipe in the pastry cream from the bottom of each choux pastry using a long nosed metal piping tip.  However, I tend to aim for speed, so slicing the choux 1/2 or 3/4 through and piping the filling in from the side works well for me.  

These can be decorated with powdered sugar, or drizzled with a homemade chocolate ganache or homemade caramel sauce, like the one I used in my Paris-Brest Pastry recipe before serving.  Once the cream puffs are filled, store them in the refrigerator until serving.  Enjoy! 

Filled with chocolate pastry cream and topped with homemade caramel sauce. Yum! 

Cream Puffs Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!