Description
These festive Jack-o’-Lantern Cream Puffs combine light, airy choux pastry with a spiced pumpkin cream filling and colorful frosting to create a fun and delicious Halloween-themed dessert perfect for parties or seasonal treats.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 cup whipped topping
Frosting
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons 2% milk
- Green food coloring
- Orange food coloring
- 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
Instructions
- Prepare Dough: In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter, and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally to combine.
- Add Flour Mixture: In a small bowl, mix the all-purpose flour and pumpkin pie spice together. Add this mixture all at once to the boiling water mixture and stir vigorously until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Incorporate Eggs: Add eggs one at a time to the dough ball, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and shiny, indicating proper consistency.
- Preheat Oven and Shape Puffs: Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C). On a greased baking sheet, drop 12 rounded tablespoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart to allow for expansion during baking.
- Bake: Bake the dough puffs for 30 to 35 minutes until they turn golden brown and have puffed up fully. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
- Prepare Puffs: Immediately after removing from the oven, split each puff open horizontally. Remove the tops and set aside, discarding any soft dough inside the puffs. Allow the shells to cool completely before filling.
- Make Filling: In a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, canned pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped topping until incorporated and creamy.
- Fill Puffs: Pipe or spoon the pumpkin cream filling inside each cooled puff shell and replace the tops.
- Prepare Frosting: Combine confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon of 2% milk in a small bowl. Add additional milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.
- Color Frosting: Divide the frosting into three portions. Tint one portion green, another orange, and stir baking cocoa into the remaining portion to create chocolate frosting.
- Decorate: Use the orange and chocolate frostings to pipe jack-o’-lantern faces onto the cream puffs. Use the green frosting to pipe stems on the tops, completing the pumpkin look.
Notes
- Ensure eggs are at room temperature for better incorporation into the dough.
- Do not open the oven during the first 25 minutes of baking to prevent the puffs from collapsing.
- Discarding the soft dough inside helps maintain the hollow structure perfect for filling.
- Use a piping bag with a round tip for easy filling and decorating.
- Store cream puffs refrigerated and consume within 2 days for best freshness.
- To make ahead, bake puffs and freeze before filling, then thaw and fill when ready to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cream puff
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
