Bostom Cream...PUFFS

For as long as I can remember, I've been making choux pastry. When i was 12 or 13 people were asking me to make puffs for them. While, dessert fillings are always fun, I usually made them as appetizers with savory fillings. Spicy chicken, salsa, Tuna, Salmon. Cheese. Simply delicious. For an appetizers and dessert style party I decided to make sweet Puffs. However, while I had the time to make puffs I didn't for the cream so I attempted to do a little something something with vanilla pudding. I stared at the instant pudding options for about 5 minutes. I hardly ever buy pudding and was a little befuddled by it. Fast forwad a few hours later with puffs waiting to be filled, I'm still staring at the box of pudding mix with mixed feelings.

Nevertheless, I opened the box and did some of my own tweaking to make it at least a bit more custard like..and ended up with...pudding. So, rather than offering up cream puffs, I added some melted chocolate and called it Bostom Cream Puffs. Disaster avoided.

I was a little nervous about taking them, but they were also welcomed by the party guests. Just word to the wise, these things are high milk, egg, custard content (the filling) and so must be refrigerated as the hostess did not realize. And let me tell you they are DEFINITELY not appetizing a mere 15 hours later.

BOTTOM LINE: I will be making my puffs again. I will probably not be making dessert puffs again. Although I am tempted to play around with pastry creme by Julia Child. I encourage everyone to make these puffs and fill them with your fave filling. They are a great way to class up anything from tuna to sloppy joe to emphasize the elegance of a pate foi gras for example. Bon Appetit!


Boston Cream Puffs

1/2 pint water - 1 cup.

4 ounces lard or butter - 1/2 cup.

4 ounces flour - 1 cup.

6 eggs.

Little salt when lard is used.

Set the water on to boil with the lard in it. Put in the flour dry as it Is and all at once, and stir the mixture over the fire about five minutes or until it has become a smooth, well cooked paste. Take it off and add the eggs one at a time and beat in each one well before adding the next. Give the paste a thorough beating against the side of the pan for finish.

Drop portions size of an egg on baking pans very slightly greased and bake at 450 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Then drop temp to 350 for 30 minutes. Let the puffs bake slowly at last and dry so they will not fall when taken out. Cut a slit, in the side and fill with pastry cream by means of a teaspoon

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Nanaimo Bars... one point for the Canucks.

Peanut butter, Chocolate, Graham crackers, Coconut, Hazelnut, Pecans, Almonds. These bars are not for your nut allergist! Talk about layers of decadence and uber-richness! I have to cut these squares in 1/2 by 1/2 inch squares because they are that indulgent.

Nanaimo Bars are I've realized are a Canadian Dessert. It is basically chalked up to a no-bake square, named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. Won't lie, the Canadians surprised me with this recipe, I was impressed. Because I live in America and have family in Canada, I have to give the Canucks a hard time.

The first time I made these was for a trip to visit some friends. I'd found the recipe on FoodNetwork while looking at other recipes and mentally bookmarked it to try some time. I am always nervous about making/trying new recipes for a crowd if I don't know what to expect. Individually, these ingredients sounded delicious it was just a matter of how they would taste mixed together. And of course I rarely follow a recipe to the T, which adds to the risk factor. But, I made them and took them and by the end of the weekend, they were gone! My friends looked for any excuse to eat them. They were so rich that it was only 1 or 2 squares at a time but they were consumed about every half hour or so. We realized they taste better frozen as the peanut butter melts at room temperature so the freezer was always being opened and closed.

I've made these twice now, each time altering the recipe. The first time I doubled up on the peanut butter. The only caution I have is to watch the saltiness as you add more peanut butter (unless you use a low or no salt kind). Everyone enjoyed them but I personally could taste the salt factor. The second time, I stuck to the recommended amount of PB but wasn't too pleased with that taste either, it was sweeter than peanut-ty. Also, I'd run out of almonds for the graham layer so ground up some pecans as well. And in both trials, rather than put peanuts on the top, I added hazelnuts. BOTTOM LINE: I really like this recipe. It has definitely been added as a go-to for entertaining. Only downside is you have to plan ahead if you want to make them as it takes some refrigeration. The steps are crazy easy though and make up for the refrigeration time. I'd be interested in playing around with the layers and flavors. Coffee, Mocha, Mint, Caramel, etc. Can't wait to try it out with my younger bro and his friends.




Ingredients
Cookie:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
Peanut Butter Filling:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan or casserole with aluminum foil, with long flaps hanging over each edge.

For the cookie: Put the butter in a heatproof medium bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer over medium-low heat. Set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and cocoa, and stir to combine. Add the egg and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until warm to the touch and slightly thickened (it should be about the consistency of hot fudge), about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in graham crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press the dough firmly into the prepared pan. (Save the pan of water for melting the chocolate.)

For the filling: Beat the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light. Spread over the cookie and freeze while you prepare the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze: Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl, and set over the barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.). When cool but still runny, pour the chocolate layer over the chilled peanut butter layer and carefully smooth out with an offset spatula. Freeze 30 minutes.

To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Pull out of the pan using the foil flaps and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Busy baker's tips: Finished bars can be wrapped in the pan in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month.

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