What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Enjoy summer throughout the year by preserving a pinch of it in your salt.
Chouquettes/Pets de Soeur
Miriam's laugh is infectious. And the loves these little pate a choux treats called chouquettes, which are cream puffs rolled in Swedish pearly sugar and baked. She calls them crack balls. Every year when we get together at the Oregon coast, I make a sweet snack everyone will enjoy. This time, I wanted to make these because of Miriam.
You see, Miriam laughs a lot because of words. She's a native French speaker who grew up in Morocco, and sometimes words catch on her tongue. And because it's a rather bawdy tongue, the mix of filthy + misstated Americanisms often result in full belly-laughs for everyone.
Chouquettes aren't inherently funny, but their fry-o-later cousin Pets de Soeur are. Same dough, but instead of sprinkled with pearl sugar, these puffs are fried and dusted with powdered sugar. A fritter, really. Not so funny? Pets de Soeur roughly translates to 'Air of the Sisters,' or Nun's Farts. When I announced I was making chouquettes, she clapped enthusiastically. But when I added Pets de Soeur to the conversation, she laughed nearly to tears and then explained to everyone else what I'd said in French. It was the first of many laughs that weekend.
Chouquettes/Pets de Soeur
6 T butter
2 tsp sugar
pinch salt
grated lemon rind
1 c water
1 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum (optional)
4 eggs
Swedish pearl sugar (for chouquettes)
Vegetable oil, for frying (for pets de soeur)
Powdered sugar (for pets de soeur)
Note: For chouquettes, preheat the oven to 400F for at least 20 minutes prior to baking. For Pets de Soeur, heat oil in a pot to 360F.
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, salt, lemon rind, and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
- Add the flour all at once to the saucepan and stir to combine. At first, stir carefully to keep the flour in the pan, then vigorously to ensure it is completely combined.
- Return to a medium high flame and cook 3 - 4 minutes or until the batter clings and is glossy. Remove from the heat.
- Add the vanilla and rum and allow the mixture to cool (in the pan).
- Add the eggs one at a time with a wooden spoon. Beat vigorously and combine completely before adding the next egg. Don't worry - the batter will break every time, but keep working it until it comes back together and gets sticky again. This may take around 15 minutes.
- If making chouquettes, drop quarter-size balls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle generously with Swedish pearl sugar. Bake 5 - 20 minutes (these need to be totally brown when you remove them from the oven or they will collapse from the moisture).
- If making pets de soeur, drop quarter-size balls of dough into the hot oil until evenly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and eat immediately.
