Cookie Dough Cream Puffs
I’ve never met a cream puff I didn’t like. I’ve filled them with caramel pastry cream, mascarpone cream, dulce de leche cream… but what if I filled them with something other than cream? My brain immediately went to cookie dough and I couldn’t stop myself. For you: my recipe for Cookie Dough Cream Puffs!
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These Cookie Dough Cream Puffs are classic cream puffs filled with fluffy (and safe to eat!) chocolate chip cookie dough, then drizzled with chocolate ganache. I say “drizzled,” but perhaps “drenched” would be a more appropriate description. 😉
You’ll want to read through the recipe directions in their entirety before starting. I’m terrible about doing this myself, but it could save you the heartbreak of deflated cream puffs. I give a couple of tips to avoid this from happening. First, when piping the choux mounds, make sure they’re at least 2″ apart on the baking sheet. If they’re too close together, the steam that escapes while baking could cause them to deflate.
I give a suggested dimension for the mounds (2″ across by 3/4″ tall) in the recipe, but it’s more important that they’re all uniform in size rather than meeting these specific dimensions. Just be aware that bigger choux mounds will take more time to bake, and smaller ones will be done sooner.
When piping the choux, I found that if you hold the bag straight up and stay in the center as you squeeze the piping bag, you end up with a more uniform (round) shape.
I used parchment sheets to line my pans for easy cleanup. The ones I use are pre-cut to the size of the pan and they’re nonstick! If you’d like to get some for yourself, you can find them here.
For the cookie dough, I wanted to make sure that it was safe to eat! This means that it doesn’t contain any eggs, and the flour is heat-treated. It’s an extra step to toast the flour, but it ensures that your bake is safe for everyone to eat!
The cookie dough is whipped and fluffy, so you don’t have a gob of chewy cookie dough in the center of the cream puff. Then, once your cream puffs are assembled, it’s reeeeally fun to pour the chocolate ganache over the top! I used dark chocolate because it’s my jam. <3
So there you have it. These little gems are definitely not traditional, but when have you ever expected me to adhere to tradition? These are eye-rollingly good, and that’s all that matters in my kitchen!
Other posts you may like:
Strawberry Shortcake Cream Puffs
Cookie Dough Brownie Cheesecake
Choux pastry recipe for cream puffs adapted from Pierre Herme Pastries (link here).
Cookie Dough Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Cream Puffs:
- 125 grams water (½ cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 125 grams whole milk (½ cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (½ tsp)
- 5 grams fleur de sel (or other sea salt) (½ tsp)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 140 grams flour (¾ cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 4 eggs
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream
- ⅔ cup mini chocolate chips
Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 oz chocolate, chopped finely (I used 60% cacao)
- ⅔ cup heavy (whipping) cream
Instructions
For Cream Puffs:
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment or silpats (see note) and set aside.
- Combine water, milk, sugar, salt, and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, and while still on the heat, add the flour. Quickly beat mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth and shiny. Mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan. (Do not underbeat or cream puffs may deflate later!)
- Once mixture is thoroughly combined, scrape it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn the mixer on low speed. With mixer running, add eggs one a time, allowing each egg to incorporate and mixture to become smooth before adding the next.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag and cut a hole in the end (about 1/3" across). Pipe mounds of choux pastry at least 2" apart, each about 2" across and 3/4" tall (see notes). With those dimensions, you get about 24 cream puffs.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and turn the oven off. Bake 10 minutes with the oven off. Turn oven back on to 350 F and bake another 10 minutes. Then, turn the oven off again, leaving the cream puffs to finish baking for another 10 minutes (This is 30 minutes in the oven total). Resist the urge to open the oven until baking is complete, as this could deflate your cream puffs!
- Once the cream puffs are baked, remove from the oven and poke a hole in the top of each with a toothpick. This will allow any residual steam to escape (otherwise, your cream puffs could deflate…sensing a trend here?). Allow cream puffs to cool completely.
For Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread the flour out on a baking sheet in an even layer. Toast 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely (see note).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars. Beat until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and salt. Mix to combine. Add (toasted) flour and cream. Beat until incorporated and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add mini chocolate chips and stir to incorporate. Cookie dough will be soft and fluffy.
For Ganache:
- Combine chocolate and cream in a small heatproof bowl and microwave on 30-second burst, stirring after each burst, until the mixture is smooth.
For Assembly:
- Split the cooled the cream puffs with a thin, serrated knife.
- Spoon or pipe the cookie dough into the bottom of each of the cream puffs. Place the tops of the cream puffs on the filling, then drizzle (or drench!) with the ganache. It's best to assemble the cream puffs as close to when you plan to serve them as possible.Enjoy!