Fetapuffs Recipes

FETA CHEESE FOLDOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, blend feta cheese, green onions, and egg. Cut pastry into 12 (3 inch) squares. Place a mounded tablespoon of feta mixture in the center of each square. Moisten edges with water, and fold pastry over filling to form a triangle. Press edges together firmly with a fork to seal. Lightly brush pastries with the egg yolk mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SPINACH AND FETA PUFF PASTRY BITES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Thaw frozen spinach in microwave according to package directions or by running under warm water. Drain spinach, squeezing the excess liquid from it. In a bowl, mix the spinach, feta, garlic, pepper, and nutmeg together.
• Flour a clean, dry countertop or other flat working surface. Lay out the puff pasty on the floured surface. Flour the top of the dough. Roll out the puff pastry until it is half as thick (about 1/8-inch) and about 24 by 12 inches. Trim edges to size if necessary. Cut into 3-inch strips crosswise and lengthwise, making 32 (3-inch) squares. Make sure the squares are well floured then stack them in a little pile.
• Fill a little dish with some room temperature water. Imagine each square you work with is separated in half by a diagonal. Place a couple teaspoons of filling in the top half. Dip a finger into the water and moisten the edges of the top half with water. Fold the bottom half to meet the edges of the top half. Use a fork to seal the edges.
• Place finished pockets on a nonstick baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Serve warm.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. In 2 1/2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes.
• Make one of the fillings (directions below). Cut off top third of each puff and pull out any strands of soft dough. Fill puffs with filling; replace tops. Cover; refrigerate until serving. Store covered in refrigerator. Eggnog Fluff Filling: In large bowl, beat pudding mix, milk, rum extract, nutmeg and ginger with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Add whipping cream; beat on high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush tops with light corn syrup and sprinkle with colored sugar or nonpareils. Peppermint Whipped Cream Filling: In large bowl, beat ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

CREAM PUFFS I

Steps:

• For the custard: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 60 seconds, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir. Then return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir, over heat, until mixture starts to bubble again. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• For the pastry: In a medium saucepan, combine shortening and water and bring to a boil. Sift together 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt and pour all at once into boiling mixture. Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet, or pipe into desired shape.
• Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake 25 minutes more, or until golden. Cool completely, split, fill with custard, and replace tops.

FETA PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll out pastry into a 14- by 10-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Trim edges, preferably with a pizza wheel, and cut pastry lengthwise into 6 (1 1/2-inch-wide) strips. Chill strips on a baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, until cold, about 10 minutes.
• Blend feta, cream, pepper, and 1 tablespoon egg in a food processor until smooth, then form into 21 balls on a work surface.
• Keeping remaining pastry covered, brush top of 1 strip with some of beaten egg. Starting 1/2 inch from one end and leaving 1/2 inch at opposite end, evenly space 7 cheese balls down center of strip. Cover with another pastry strip, pressing ends together, then press between balls of filling gently but firmly. Press pastry around each ball to seal top and bottom together and wipe away any filling that leaks out. Brush top of strip (but not sides) with some of egg and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon thyme. Cut between mounds of filling to form squares and arrange pastries 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make more pastries with remaining strips, filling, and thyme.
• Bake in middle of oven until puffed and golden, about 12 minutes. Serve warm.
• Note: Unbaked pastries can be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap, 2 weeks. Thaw in refrigerator.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet, in 2-inch diameter rounds or balls. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons water. Brush the surface of the rounds with the egg wash to knock down the points (you may not use all the egg wash). Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up, and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To fill the cream puffs, place a pastry tip on your finger and poke a whole in the bottom of each puff. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Pipe whipped cream into each cream puff and chill until ready to serve, no more than 4 hours.
• Notes about the recipe: The moisture in the eggs turns to steam and puffs the batter to try to release itself. You can fill them with anything.

FETA PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll out pastry into a 14- by 10-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Trim edges, preferably with a pizza wheel, and cut pastry lengthwise into 6 (1 1/2-inch-wide) strips. Chill strips on a baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, until cold, about 10 minutes.
• Blend feta, cream, pepper, and 1 tablespoon egg in a food processor until smooth, then form into 21 balls on a work surface.
• Keeping remaining pastry covered, brush top of 1 strip with some of beaten egg. Starting 1/2 inch from one end and leaving 1/2 inch at opposite end, evenly space 7 cheese balls down center of strip. Cover with another pastry strip, pressing ends together, then press between balls of filling gently but firmly. Press pastry around each ball to seal top and bottom together and wipe away any filling that leaks out. Brush top of strip (but not sides) with some of egg and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon thyme. Cut between mounds of filling to form squares and arrange pastries 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make more pastries with remaining strips, filling, and thyme.
• Bake in middle of oven until puffed and golden, about 12 minutes. Serve warm.