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Pastries
Cream Puffs
Cream Puffs (dough made with flour, butter and eggs; filled with custard, flavored with lemon)
Originated from: Guardialfiera, Molise, Italy
Occasion: Weddings and other very special events
Contributed by: Rita Palazzo (her mother's recipe)

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Ingredients

Pastry dough
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
50 ml (1/4 cup) butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs

Custard
For every egg yoke:
4 1/2 oz. of milk
1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon of flour
Zest of lemon



Directions

Instructions for pastry dough:



Pre-heat oven to 375 degree F. Grease a cookie sheet.

Boil water and butter, add flour while stirring. Continue cooking while stirring so that dough does not stick to pan.

Remove from heat, add eggs one at a time.

Make small balls (size of a walnut).

Cook in oven, when they turn light burn, cool, put custard or cream whipped with sugar.



Instructions for custard:



Stir egg yoke in double boiler with wooden spoon.

Add all ingredients.

On low heat stir until it comes to a boil.


Notes

Cream puffs were made for very special occasions in Molise, including weddings and baptisms. It seems that in Sicily cream puffs called "zeppole" were made for the Feast Day of Saint Joseph. However, not all Italian recipes that go by the name of "zeppole" are necessarily cream puffs. Some "zeppole" are simple donut-shaped fritters coated with icing sugar [See "Fritters" for an alternative recipe]. Nonetheless, many North American Italian pastry shops sell Sicilian-style "zeppole" in March to mark the Saint Joseph feast day, so many of their customers have come to associate cream puffs for this festivity. This recipe is an excellent one that can be easily home-made... Notes and photo: Mary Melfi

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