Make Pigs in a Puff With Choux Pastry

Cocktail weenies are a necessity for a proper Super Bowl, whether you’re alone or hosting 20 exuberant guests. Wrapping Lit’l Smokies in blankets of pastry is a traditional move, but for those who want to bend the rules a lit’l bit, try offering a bowl of choux puffs to tuck them into. They’re unexpected, but as soon as you crack one open, you’ll see they offer considerable snack opportunities.

I feel very strongly about the power of choux. Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is the dough that cream puffs, eclairs, crullers, and dreams are made of. It’s relatively neutral in flavor; it’s the structure that makes it special. The dough is made from a simple mixture of milk, water, butter, eggs and flour. Once baked at a high temperature, this combination of ingredients releases a mighty puff of air that becomes trapped by the gluten structure. In the end, the oven will reveal a batch of toasted globes packing a secret: They’re actually pastry pockets. Crack open a crispy orb, and you’ll see an empty space with a delicate network of eggy dough, perfect for filling with dips and dogs.

The neutral flavor of the pastry presents a great opportunity to load it up with any flavorful fillings that you’d like to spotlight. This normally comes in the form of chocolate, or pastry cream, but no one ever said you can’t cram them full of cocktail weenies for a two-bite snack. In fact, I encourage it. Make a batch of choux puffs, and pile them up in a bowl. Nestle the bounty directly amongst the buffalo cauliflower dip, the grape jelly cocktail sausages, and the three-ingredient blue cheese dip. This triangle of characters should present your guests with all the right subconscious signals.

Crack open a choux puff, add some cauliflower dip, a cocktail weenie, and a dab of blue cheese dip. Close the top. You now have a flavorsome snack pocket that you can eat without having to look away from the TV screen. Only have mini weenies, chili, and cheese dip? That sounds like a recipe for some stellar chili cheese dog choux puffs. Preemptively stuff some puffs with cocktail weenies so when your guests arrive, they just have to fill the little pockets with their dips of choice. Load up a plate, and get ready to scream at some sports.