Recipes

Baked Chrusciki
Courtesy of Sister Comelia Molenda

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 sticks of margarine
• ½ cup of sour cream

Mix flour and margarine as for pie crust. Beat egg yolks into the sour cream, add vanilla. Combine sour cream mixture with flour mixture, knead on floured board until smooth. Make a roll, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate overnight. Roll out and cut in 2-by-3-inch rectangles. Make a slash in middle, about 3 inches long. Fold one end through slash to make a bow. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Cream Puffs
15 puffs

Choux Paste
About 2 ½ cups

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine in a large sauce pan:

• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup of whole milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon of salt

Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium heat. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook and stir the mixture for about 1 minute to eliminate excess moisture. The butter may ooze out, which is fine; it simply means that the moisture is evaporating. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beat in 4 large eggs, 1 at a time by hand, with a wooden spoon or on low speed with a mixer.

Make sure the paste is smooth before adding the next egg. Beat the dough until it is smooth and shiny. Choux paste can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. When it is cold, you do not need to bring the paste to room temperature before shaping.

Scoop the paste into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip. Pipe approximately ¼ cup paste onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake the puffs for 15 minutes in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake until golden brown and very firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes more. Turn off the oven. Poke the bottom of each puff, turn upside down on the baking sheet, and let dry in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool to room temperature.

Filling for Cream Puffs

• 1 package of 3-ounce vanilla instant pudding
• 1 ½ cups cold milk
• Make pudding according to package directions using 1 ½ cups milk.

2 cups heavy whipping cream. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold in vanilla pudding.

Fill puffs. Any flavor of instant pudding can be used.

Topping

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ½ cup heavy cream

Combine in microwave-safe bowl and microwave 1 minute, or until chips are melted. Mix thoroughly. Drizzle over filled puffs.

Slice the tops from the puffs, remove any uncooked paste, and fill with cream. Place the tops slightly askew and drizzle with chocolate syrup. These cream puffs are a house favorite!