Savory Chicken Salad Puffs

These savory chicken salad cream puffs combine tender, chopped chicken with grapes, toasted pecans, and a creamy mayonnaise-sour cream dressing, all nestled inside crisp, golden cream puff shells. Garnished with fresh lettuce, they make a sophisticated and flavorful appetizer or tea-time treat.

Recipe Information

Total Time:

Yield:

8 filled puffs

Ingredients

Chicken Salad

⅔ cup mayonnaise

⅓ cup sour cream

1½ teaspoons powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

⅔ cup halved red grapes

⅓ cup chopped toasted pecans

Green leaf lettuce leaves, torn in quarters, for garnish

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Cream Puff Shells

½ cup water

¼ cup unsalted butter

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

Directions

For chicken salad, in a medium bowl stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, powdered sugar, salt and pepper. Add chicken, grapes and pecans; toss until coated. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, for cream puff shells, preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine water, butter and salt. Heat over medium heat just until boiling. Immediately add flour all at once; stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes. Cook and stir until pastry forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from heat; with a mixer, stir in eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.
Spoon pastry into a pastry bag fitted with a 1M star tip. On the prepared baking sheet, pipe 8 (1½‑inch) circles of dough about 2 inches apart. Bake 30 minutes or until golden on bottoms. Transfer to wire racks; cool slightly. Using a serrated knife, split each in half horizontally, stopping before cutting all the way through. Remove and discard soft dough inside.
To assemble, spoon a generous ⅓ cup chicken salad into each shell; place lettuce on salad. If desired, place in a covered container and refrigerate up to 3 hours before serving.