Betsy's Pastry Swans

This is by far my favorite Christmas dessert. I have a tray of these sitting on the dessert buffet every year. They look complicated but really aren't difficult.

Pastry Swans

Bodies ~ Pate a Choux

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 large egg white

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside. Combine butter, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and the water just comes to a boil. Remove from heat, add flour, and stir rapidly. Return the pan to the heat, and cook mixture, stirring constantly, until it comes together and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat, and let cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until they are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth. Transfer the pastry to a bag fitted with a small coupler. Pipe about 1/2 tablespoon of the pastry into an oval mound on the prepared baking sheet; continue piping until 12 'bodies' have been made, spacing pastry about 1 1/2 inches apart. Then pipe 12 long "S" shapes for the heads/necks on a separate sheet. Combine egg white with remaining 1 tablespoon of water, and brush the top of each mound and the necks with the egg wash. Bake until golden brown all over, about 20 minutes for the bodies and 10 minutes for the necks. Watch closely to prevent burning. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Cream puff shells can be made in advance, and frozen in resealable bags. When ready to use, defrost and warm in a 350 degree oven for three minutes until crisp.

Filling

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 t vanilla

6 oz Cool Whip

In mixer, blend softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla

Stir in Cool Whip with a spatula.

I put my filling in a pastry bag, which makes it easier to fill the

bodies, but you can just spoon it in just fine.

To Assemble (just before serving) ~

Cut tops off of bodies and divide the tops lengthwise to create 2 wings.

Fill each body with a large dollop of creamy filling

Arrange neck and wings to create swans by sticking ends into filling.

Can serve each in their own 'pool' of chocolate sauce, or drizzle chocolate on top.

Yield: Makes about 12

Seven Swans A-Swimming!

I'm joining in with Lisa and Sweet As Sugar Cookies.

Click HERE for more great recipes!

And also Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party HERE!

♥

Pastry Swans

I usually serve these yummy swans some time during

the holidays. They look beautiful on a dessert buffet!

As impressive as they look, they are very easy to make.

If you are sick of sweets or starting a diet, tuck the

thought away for Valentine's Day. :)

Any recipe for Pate a Choux will work (pastry for cream puffs).

Fill pastry bag with dough and

pipe swan necks and oval cream puffs for bodies

onto cookie sheet and bake as directed.

These are usually served with ice cream inside, but we

prefer a rich mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar,

cool whip and vanilla.

(No worries with melting ice cream that way.)

Cut off the top of the pastries and

then halve the tops to make wings.

After assembling, drizzle with chocolate.

Chill until ready to serve.

Rugelach

Cream cheese dough, apricot preserves and pecans. The only thing that made them sweeter was my tiny milk glass stand found at the thrift store last week. For $1.99, it was begging to come home with me! For the recipe from Ina Garten, click here!