Easy 20 Minute Cream Puff Recipe

Shared by Amy Desrosiers | 73 Comments
Updated on February 26, 2023

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This is one of our most popular dessert recipes and for good reason! This easy cream puff uses simple ingredients and only takes 20 minutes to make! The flaky puff pastry crust and real whipped cream filling make this cream puff a perfect party dessert!

I’ll show you how quick and easy they are to make.

Puff pastry stars filled with cream and dusted with sugar.

Ingredients

Before starting this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

1 box of Puff Pastry Sheets. I like to use the Pepperidge Farms brand. One box comes with 2 ready-to-bake sheets.

A box of Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry on a white table.

Real Whipped Cream Filling Ingredients:

To make the whipped cream filling, you’ll need:

1-pint of heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of confectioners’ (powdered) sugar.

Equipment and Supplies Needed

We used the following equipment and supplies to make this recipe.

Cookie Cutter (I used snowflake shapes, but you can use whatever shape you want.)
Baking Sheet
Conventional Oven
Electric hand or stand mixer

Recipe Tips

This recipe is easy to make if you know the right tips and tricks! Here are my tips for ensuring your cream puffs come out perfectly.

Puff Pastry Tips

Make sure the puff pastry dough is chilled before working with it. Working with warm dough is sticky and messy. Plus, your shapes won’t cut out neatly.

A snowflake cookie cutter piece of puff pastry.

When cutting out the puff pastry dough, be sure to place the sheet of dough on a floured surface. The flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.

Whipped Cream Tips

Use a cold bowl to make the whipped cream.

Whenever you’re working with whipped cream, it should be kept cold. Therefore, when you’re not eating it or working with it, keep it refrigerated or chilled. If you let it get warm, it will start to melt.

Basic whipped cream is made using confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and one pint of heavy whipping cream.

Mix all ingredients 2-3 minutes on high speed until soft, pillowy peaks form and hold their shape.

This cream puff recipe takes just 20 minutes to make and is ideal for wowing your guests with bakery-fresh bites.

Cream filled snowflake puff pastry on a baking sheet.

Baking the Puff Pastry

The puff pastry shells are baked in the oven at 350°F.

Carefully cut out snowflakes and place them on a large baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper. You don’t need to worry about spacing them apart too much, because they rise up, rather than sideways.

Once all snowflakes are cut out, re-roll the dough out and cut out more if needed.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then carefully slice them in half with a bread knife.

If you want them to look fancy, use a piping bag to fill them with whipped cream. Otherwise, you can use a spoon to fill them.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar for a final touch!

Cream filled snowflake puffs on a wooden table.

Storage

If you want to store your cream puffs for later just follow these easy steps:

Place them in a storage tray with an airtight lid. If you don’t have one, use a baking sheet.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Snowflake cookie cutter near snowflake cream puffs.

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