Muffin Wednesday: Strawberry Drop Puffins

Stacie and Gerise chose Strawberry Drop Puffins for this week's Muffin Wednesday experiment. They aren't muffins at all. They are cream puffs filled with yummy strawberry goodness.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Baking sheet, greased

2 c mini marshmallows
1/4 c sugar
1 c sour cream (I used light - because I always do)
1 c water
1/2 c butter or marg (I used butter - because I always do)
1 c flour
1/4 t salt
4 eggs
4 c fresh strawberries

1. In a bowl, combine marshmallows, sugar and sour cream. Cover and chill for several hours. I did this last night before bed.

2. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water to a boil. Add butter, stirring until melted. Add flour and salt, stirring vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

3. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons about 3 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet. I used the larger of my small cookie scoops and it worked great. And I didn't space them that far apart because I didn't have time to bake several batches. They didn't spread much, so it was fine.

4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. My oven temp is very erratic. I baked them for 15 minutes but had to really watch the temp as it kept creeping higher. I continued to watch after I turned it down, and they seemed to cook fast. I got scared and ended up taking them out after about 17 minutes and they turned out just fine. Set aside to cool.

5. In a bowl, crush 2 c strawberries. Because I had the hard California berries, I decided to use my food processor. I ended up processing more than I probably should have, but even pureed, the berries were good. Slice remaining 2 c strawberries. Fold all berries into chilled sour cream mixture.

6. Split puffins in half and remove any webbing inside. Spoon 1/4 c filling into the bottom of each puffin. Cover with the tops and add a dollop of filling to the top. I let everyone split and assemble their own puffin masterpiece at school.

These were very good - I ate two before work! The tasters agreed.

I had made cream puffs before and they were easy once again. The strawberry goo was fabulous - even without the puff. These would be fun to make for a summer dessert - and even better with fresh Oregon berries!

:)