Raspberry Whipped Cream Puffs 

prep: 45 minutes
cook: 45 minutes

makes 8 to 10 4-inch puffs

for the Puffs you’ll need:
1 cup water
8 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
¼ cup powdered sugar

for the Raspberry Cream you’ll need…
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
2 pints fresh raspberries

let’s get to it…
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with anti-stick spray; set aside. Move oven racks oven center. Heat oven to 400°F.
Heat the water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat until the butter melts; remove from heat. Add the flour all at once. Return to low heat and stir until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat and let the dough cool for 5 minutes.
Stir the eggs into the dough one at a time until the mixture is glossy and smooth (I used an electric stand mixer to make the tough job go faster). Spoon the dough into large, rounded mounds, 2-inches apart. I used a ½ cup measuring cup so they would all be the same size.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the puffs are golden brown (they will sound hollow when tapped). Prick each with a skewer to let steam escape. Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar. Slice off the tops and remove the centers; set aside.
Whip cream on medium high for 1-minute. Add raspberry jam and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Taste the whipped cream. Add more raspberry jam if desired. Continue beating whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
Spoon whipped cream evenly onto bottom of halved cream puffs. Top with 3 or 4 fresh raspberries. Replace tops and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip: Wait to fill the puffs just before serving so they don’t get soggy!

Make it Fancy: Place a star tip on the end of pastry bag and fill with the Raspberry Whipped Cream. Fill the bottom half of the cream puffs and proceed as directed above.

DIY Doughnuts and Jelly-Filled Doughnut Holes

prep: 10 minutes
cook: 2 to 3 minutes

you’ll need…
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons jelly (I used raspberry)
2 cups vegetable oil
1 can refrigerated biscuits

let’s get to it…
Blend sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set aside. Place jelly in pastry bag fitted with a star shaped tip (or put in a Ziploc bag and cut off a small corner to squeeze out jelly); set aside.
Set up a cooling rack or line a baking sheet lined with paper towels; set aside.
Heat oil over medium heat to 350°F. While oil heats, separate biscuits. Cut a hole in the center of each biscuit with a small round cutter.
Place 2 or 3 biscuits in hot oil. Fry on one side until golden brown; turn with tongs to fry the other side. Remove from oil and drain on a cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with paper towels for a few minutes. Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar.
Fry the doughnut holes until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain. Cool 3 to 5 minutes. Gently fill each hole with a raspberry jelly (make a small hole in the doughnut hole with a knife if you aren’t using a pastry tip). Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Raspberry Jam Cookies

prep: 30 minutes
cook: 30 minutes
bake: 10 minutes

for the jam you’ll need…
2 cups raspberries
1½ cups sugar
a jelly or candy thermometer
a strainer

for the cookies you’ll need…
2½ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ lb. (2 sticks) butter (soft, but still cold) cut into ½-inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons cream cheese, soft
¼ cup powdered sugar

let’s get to it… first the jam:
Crush the raspberries in a large pot with a potato masher.
Cook on medium high for 10 minutes, stirring often, but try not to slosh the sides.
Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. Cook until the temperature registers 220°F on the thermometer. Remove from heat.
Strain the raspberry liquid into another pot. Discard the seeds. Heat liquid on medium and cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

now the cookies…
Mix the flour, sugar and salt on low speed in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Add the butter, one piece at a time. The mixture will look crumbly when ready.
Add the vanilla and cream cheese and mix until the dough starts forming large clumps.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead 2 or 3 times on a clean cutting board or countertop. Spit the dough in half, shape into a disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle.
Unwrap one dough disk and place between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Roll out dough between parchment paper until it is about ⅛-inch thick. Remove top piece of parchment paper and set aside. Place bottom piece of parchment paper with dough on a cookie sheet.
Cut rolled out dough into an even number of desired shapes (I used a star cookie cutter) about 1-inch apart. Cut out the center of half of the cookies with a smaller cookie cutter (this will be the top of your cookie sandwich… I used a small heart cookie cutter). Remove cut-out piece and set aside. Carefully peel away excess dough from cut out cookies on parchment paper and set aside (you can roll this dough into more cookies).
Bake on parchment paper for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Remove from oven and cool.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Cool the cookies completely. Spread jam on top of the solid cookie. Place the cut out cookie on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let the cookies set at least 20 minutes… if you can resist!