Halloween Bleeding Cream Puffs

surprise and delight your friends with this horrifying twist on a classic desert.

most of the recipe was provided by Good Eats, the TV show. the whole bloody part i made up

for the cream puff shell:
1 cup water
3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
1tablespoon sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
5 3/4 ounces  BREAD flour (yes, by weight and yes it has to be bread flour)
1 cup eggs (about 4 large eggs and 2 whites)

for the creamy goodness inside:
your favorite vanilla pudding or custard mix
red food coloring

for the frosting on top:
a bag of chocolate chips
some left over red filling

Tools:
stove
various pots and pans
various cooking utensils (spoons, spatulas, etc.)
oven
hand or stand electric mixer
piping bag or plastic bag with piping tip

preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

ingredients:
1 cup water
3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
1tablespoon sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
5 3/4 ounces  BREAD flour (yes, by weight and yes it has to be bread flour)

pour the water, butter, salt, and sugar into a medium sized pot. let it come to a boil over high heat.

once it boils, dump in the flour and stir it with a rubber spatula. when it starts to coming together, turn the heat to low but continue stirring. in a minute or two, it will have transformed into a tight paste clump. it should no longer be sticky to the touch, and there should be some res ado in the pan or pot.

once you finish the paste, turn off the stove and move it to a work bowl (it will be hot! handle the paste with care). you have to wait for it to be cool, so leave it aside for 6 to 7 minutes. you'll know that it's cool enough when you can stick your finger in it without it being to burny or painful.

now that your paste is cool, you can add the eggs. use your electric mixer and add eggs one at a time, while keeping the mixer on a low setting.

you may not use all of your eggs. you have to somewhat judge the batter. when you lift up your beaters, look at how the batter falls off. it should start to stretch out and then fall off with a clean break. if you have no idea what im talking about, that's ok. just make sure the batter isn't too wet.

tools:
batter
piping bag w/ tip
baking sheet
parchment paper

scoop the batter into your piping bag.

lay down parchment paper on your baking sheet.

now, use your piping bag to make little concentric circles. they should be about the size of golf balls. place them close to 2 inches apart on the parchment to avoid sticking together.

you'll find that a little part of the batter always sticks up. if you bake them like that, they will end up with a weird hump on top. to avoid this, just wet your finger, and squish the little sticky bit down. it'll be fine.

put the cream puffs in the 375 degree oven. immediately increase the temp. to 425 (the oven should be already at 375, but still increase it to 425. don't let it preheat first to get the 425. just put them in, turn up the heat, and set your timer). bake for 15 minutes. under no circumstances may you open the oven while they are baking! no peeking!

after the 15 minutes they may look done, but they are NOT! if you take them out now they will collapse. so, turn the heat down to 350 and leave them in for another 10 minutes.

they should look slightly goldeny brown when you take them out.

next, pierce the end with a knife (this helps release moisture). you have to do this while they are still warm.

go ahead and slice one open just to see that they are hallow enough.

ingredients
your favorite vanilla pudding mix
red food coloring

this is truly, absolutely my favorite part. first, you pudding BUT only add 3/4 as much water as they pudding instructions says too (you want the pudding to be thick). once you make your pudding, put a few drops of red color in it. use as much or as little as it takes to make it look really blood red. if you want, you could make it a raseberry pudding mix so it tastes.. erm. red i guess.

ATTENTION! you only want to fill the cream puffs just before you eat them! if you fill them and let them sit for too long, they will get soggy! so if you are ready to eat them within the next hour or so, go ahead and fill them.

fill your piping bag with the pudding. the recommended tip to use is a small star tip. if you dont have that, it's ok to use a round tip. if you have no tip at all, you have to actually cut a hole in the cream puff shell, and then fill it.

push the tip into one side of the cream puff. squeeze the piping bag gently, until pudding starts to come of the hole.

put the cream puff in the fridge while you make the chocolate coating (next step).

to make the coating, put 1 cup of chocolate chips and a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a bowl. put the bowl over a pot of simmering or boiling water (a double boiler). once the chocolate heats up enough, you can stir it with ease as it melts.

now, to coat, take a cream puff, dunk the top in chocolate, let the excess drain slightly, and set it back down on a rack or plate.

to make the outside bloody as well, just take some leftover pudding and drip it onto the cream puff.

congratulations, you have finished your blood filled cream puffs! now you can serve them at your halloween party! er.. but, don't get any on your costume.