Don't just enjoy the scent of your Christmas tree, use its needles to make a pastry cream filling for impressive holiday cream puffs.
One of the things I like best about the holidays is the scent of a fresh Christmas tree in the house. The other day I was sitting next to the tree, enjoying the woodsy aroma and brainstorming recipe ideas. I started to wonder if there was a way to capture the tree's essence in cooking without it tasting like a cleaner.
can you eat pine needles?
In fact, you can. But before you tear off ornaments and chow down on tree branches, there are some disclaimers. While most Christmas trees are likely edible, some varieties are not, including the Ponderosa pine, yew, and yellow pine. Otherwise, the needles of other pine, spruce, and fir trees are edible. Just make sure you can identify your tree.
It's also important to know if your tree is sprayed with pesticides. Many trees found in big stores are often sprayed. But if you cut yours down from a tree farm or sourced it locally, it doesn't hurt to ask the growers. Again, please don't use your tree for cooking if you're unsure.
Fortunately, you probably don't have to look far to find one of these trees nearby in nature, at least not in Vermont. I didn't cut branches off of my own Christmas tree since I was unsure if it was sprayed. I just cut a few small branches off a pine tree growing in my parent's yard.
the needles hold the flavor
Various parts of these trees may be edible, but I was only concerned with the needles. And of course, I didn't actually want to eat the needles. Rather, I wanted to extract their flavor. Once I had something I felt confident in using, I immediately thought about infusing milk or cream.
I think ice cream would be interesting, though it's just not the time of year for it. Pastry cream, on the other hand, would do nicely. Pastry cream is essentially pudding, but it's used to fill cream puffs, eclairs, fruit tarts, and other pastries. I went for cream puffs, as they're a perfect holiday dessert.
I steeped pieces of my pine branch in hot milk and added some orange zest, hoping the two would pair well together. As it steeped, I kept tasting the milk and pastry cream, unsure of what to expect. After a couple of hours, I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh, subtle flavor of the pine. It wasn't deep and woodsy, as I expected, but almost minty. It's certainly unique and will surely spark a conversation when you bring a plate of these to your next holiday party.
how to make cream puffs
Cream puffs, or profiterole, as they're known in Europe, are made from a French choux pastry and are filled with cream or custard. When you bite into one, you get a mix of the soft dough on the outside and sweet flavored cream inside. If short on time, you can prepare the pastry and bake it one day, then fill with your custard the next. Neither step is all that complicated.
Choux pastry is a cooked dough that you can prepare in one pan. Afterward, you pipe or spoon it onto trays to bake. As the dough bakes, it rises and puffs up, creating a hollow center that is just asking for a tasty filling.
As the puffs bake and cool, you prepare the filling using your infused cream. Corn starch helps to thicken the cream while sugar provides sweetness. It doesn't take long to transform into a simple custard.
Either pipe filling into the puffs, or you can slice and spoon filling between the top and bottom layers. That's it. But if you really wanted to take it over the top, you can stack your cream puffs into a tower (or tree) and drizzle with caramel to create a croquembouche.
Print📖 Recipe
Christmas Cream Puffs
- Total Time: 1 hour & 45 minutes
- Yield: about 3 dozen cream puffs 1x
Description
Don't just enjoy the scent of your Christmas tree, use its needles to make a pastry cream filling for impressive holiday cream puffs.
Ingredients
For the cream puffs
- 1 stick of butter (or four ounces)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs
For the pine pastry cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 eight-inch pieces of pine, spruce, or fir branch
- zest of one orange
- ¾ cup of sugar
- ¼ cup of corn starch
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Before starting on the cream puffs, you'll want to infuse the milk for the pastry cream filling. In a medium-sized saucepan, gently heat the milk over medium-low heat until just simmering. Cut the branch into pieces and add to the milk, along with the orange zest. Remove from the heat and cool. You can do this in advance or even overnight, by storing the milk in the fridge as it steeps. The longer the steeping time, the stronger the flavor you'll get from the tree.
In another medium-sized pot, heat the butter, sugar, salt, and water. Stir to incorporate the ingredients while bringing the liquid to a gentle boil. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the flour. Stir until the dough has formed and clings together in a ball. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes. Crack the eggs into a bowl while you wait.
One at a time, add the eggs into the dough and stir until incorporated. It will take a little work. The dough will separate into pieces with each egg addition and look like you're doing something wrong. But just keep stirring and the dough will come back together. I find it helps to cradle the pot in one arm and stir with the other to prevent the pot from moving around.
After you have mixed the last egg into the dough, use a spatula to transfer it into a pastry bag or gallon-sized storage bag with a corner cut off and a large plain piping tip attached. Or you could try using a small cookie or ice cream scooper instead of piping.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the dough into one-inch rounds on the sheets, using about a tablespoon or so for each puff. Continue to form the puffs with the dough, spacing them about two inches apart on the baking sheet. If you're piping, wet your finger and smooth out any pointy tips on the tops of the puff. Otherwise, they will burn. Then place the sheets in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top and bottom. Remove from the oven and let cool.
While the puffs bake, make the pastry cream. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Strain the milk to remove the pine branches and orange zest then wipe any pine needles out of the pot. Return the milk to the pot along with the sugar mixture and butter. Heat over medium-low heat until simmering, whisking often to prevent burning or lumps. Cook for about ten minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of pudding. Transfer to the fridge to cool to room temperature.
When the puffs and cream are both cool it's time to fill. You can either make a small hole in the bottom of each puff and pipe the filling into each one. Or just slice each puff in half across the middle and spoon the filling onto each bottom. Put the tops on top of the cream and gently press down to adhere to the cream.
Serve the puffs chilled and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. But there's no way they'll last that long.
Notes
Read carefully through the recipe before you begin. Although it looks like a lot of steps, just break it down into small chunks.
No needles? No problem. Steep a vanilla bean or two in the cream for a classic flavor.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes + infusing time
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Holidays
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Z says
Sorry if I'm being dense, but are you putting chunks of the branch in, with the wood? Or just the needles?
Steve says
Hi Z,
I put pieces of the branches right in to steep. But you could also strip the needles off and do it that way, too. I think it's just personal preference.