Cooking on Camera: How to Make Pâte à Choux (Pastry Puffs)

A bridal shower staple, these fluffy little pastry puffs are perfect for making sweet treats like eclairs, profiteroles, beignets and crullers or savory bite-sized tea sandwiches. Load ’em up with whatever you’re craving – they take almost no time to prep!

Print This Recipe

Pâte à Choux Recipe – Makes 24 “Puffs”

Ingredients for Pâte à Choux:
1 cup all-purpose flour – from stock
4 ounces unsalted butter, sliced – from stock
1 cup water -from stock
¼ teaspoon salt – from stock
4 large eggs, lightly beaten – from stock
1 large egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon water for egg wash – from stock
GRAND TOTAL (assuming “well-stocked” kitchen): $0!

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a large jelly roll pan.

2. In a 2 quart saucepan, bring the water and butter slices to a boil.

3. Over high heat, add all of the flour, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. (This takes less than a minute.) The butter/flour mixture will pull away from the sides of the saucepan, creating a rough looking ball.

4. Turn off the flame; add the beaten eggs, a little bit at a time, again stirring vigorously until each addition is completely mixed in. The dough will be soft.

5. Drop the batter by heaping Tablespoons onto the prepared jelly-roll pan, about 2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, stroke the tops with a light coat of the egg wash.

6. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until puffed and golden.

7. Cool on wire racks and store in a sealed bag either at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Now that you’re a pro, check out these recipes for Cream Puffs, Eclairs, and Curried Shrimp Puffs – perfect for an afternoon tea or formal bridal shower!