Profiteroles

Cream puff dough works amazingly well gluten free!   The little mounds that you drop onto the baking sheet puff right up in the oven, just the way they’re supposed to.  Traditional ice cream flavors for the filling are vanilla, chocolate, or coffee, but you should experiment to find your favorite.

Profiteroles
From Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table

Yield: 24 profiteroles

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2  cup water
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup gluten-free OR all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• Ice cream of your choice for filling, such as vanilla, chocolate, or coffee (about 28 oz)

 

1. Position racks to divide oven into thirds and preheat to 425ºF.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Add flour all at once, lower heat to medium-low, and immediately start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon or heavy whisk.  The dough will come together.
5. Continue to stir vigorously for about 1 minute longer to dry the dough.  (If you cook it too long, liquid will begin to pool at the bottom of the pan, but don’t worry – just pour everything into a mixing bowl in the next step.)
6. Turn dough into a bowl and let it sit for a minute.  If using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment.  You can also use a hand mixer or even mix by hand (but I wouldn’t recommend it).
7. Add eggs one at a time and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and sticky.  Make sure that each egg is completely incorporated before you add the next.  The dough might fall apart at first, but it will come back together by the time you add the last egg.  Use it as soon as it is made!
8. Drop the dough in 1-tablespoon mounds on the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between puffs.  (At this point, you can put the entire pan in the freezer.  Once the unbaked puffs are frozen, you can transfer them into a plastic bag to store in the freezer for up to 2 months.)
9. Put baking sheets into oven and immediately turn temperature down to 375ºF. (If using puffs from the freezer, don’t defrost them.  Just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.)
10. Bake puffs for 12 minutes without opening the oven door.  Rotate the baking sheets, switch them between the top and bottom racks, and bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until they are golden in color and firm to the touch.
11. Leave puffs on the baking sheets to cool to room temperature.
12. Cut the top third off each puff and fill the bottoms with ice cream.  Cover with the tops.
13. Store profiteroles in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to serve.  When serving, give them a couple minutes to warm up before you eat them.