Party Crab Puffs Recipe
I received this recipe years ago from my grandmother. She also told me to have fun being creative and experimenting in the kitchen. My friends request these little puffs at every gathering.
I received this recipe years ago from my grandmother. She also told me to have fun being creative and experimenting in the kitchen. My friends request these little puffs at every gathering.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- minced fresh parsley optional
- 1/2 cup butter cubed
- 4 hard-cooked eggs finely chopped
- 1 can (6 ounces) lump crabmeat drained
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish drained
- Carbohydrate 1.49785837661629 g
- Cholesterol 4.26419689226825 mg
- Fat 1.63595208530967 g
- Fiber 0.110348088696315 g
- Protein 0.451035228082383 g
- Saturated Fat 0.897732326270525 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (17g)
- Sodium 39.873908464196 mg
- Sugar 1.38751028791997 g
- Trans Fat 0.308170979659929 g
- Calories 22 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400degrees. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool puffs.
- In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Just before serving, spoon 1 teaspoonful filling into each puff; sprinkle with parsley if desired. Replace tops.
Substituting margarine for the butter in choux pastry lowers the moisture content enough to alter structural integrity, resulting in flat puffs that fail to hollow properly. Real dairy butter contains water and milk solids that interact correctly with the flour starch during gelatinization. Use cold blocks cut into uniform half-inch cubes so the water boils evenly before the flour goes into the pan.
Beating the eggs into the cooked paste demands deliberate physical effort. Incorporate them strictly one at a time. The batter will initially separate into slippery clumps that look ruined. Continue beating vigorously until the mixture reabsorbs the moisture, turning glossy and smooth before adding the next egg.
Assess doneness visually by observing the deep golden brown coloration across the exterior shell. Tap the side of a pastry puff to check for a hollow sound indicating the interior moisture has evaporated. Pull them from the 400 degree oven immediately when this color threshold is reached.
Hollow out the soft interior dough while the shells remain hot so steam escapes instead of softening the crust. Spoon the seasoned crab filling inside just before service to prevent the mayonnaise from degrading the crisp pastry walls.
