Fall flavors come alive in our divine Pumpkin Cream Puffs. This recipe is filled with luscious pumpkin pie custard and topped with a delicate dusting of edible gold luster.

Fall is in the air, and that can only mean one thing. It’s pumpkin season!

With its warm hues and comforting flavors, pumpkin has become synonymous with autumn. And what better way to indulge in this seasonal delight than with fluffy, delicate cream puffs filled with a luscious pumpkin filling?

Bursting with all the flavors of fall, these delectable treats offer a delightful combination of sweet and creamy that will transport you straight to a cozy fireplace on a crisp evening. So get ready to satisfy your pumpkin cravings as we dive into the world of irresistible pumpkin cream puffs.

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Table of Contents

What is a Cream Puff?

A cream puff is a light and airy pastry made from Choux Pastry dough (also known as Pâte à Choux dough), which is characterized by its high moisture content. This dough, when baked, puffs up to create a hollow center.

Cream puff shells are typically baked until golden brown and then split open to be filled with various sweet fillings.

The most common filling for a cream puff is whipped cream, but they can also be filled with pastry cream, custard, ice cream, or other sweet fillings. Once filled, they are often dusted with powdered sugar for a finishing touch.

We promise that making the pate a choux dough sounds fancy and hard, but it’s not. And it is our new favorite! It’s unbelievable all the things you can make with this one dough. Can you say, eclairs, French crullers and churros, just to name a few?!?

Ingredients Needed

Unsalted butter

White granulated sugar

Salt

Flour

Eggs

Cinnamon

Egg wash — Whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.

Whipping cream

Pumpkin puree — Do not substitute with pumpkin filling as they are two different things.

Whipped cream cheese

Powdered sugar

Pumpkin pie spice — This spice is great to keep in your pantry for other fall staples like Sparkling Pumpkin Cider, Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie, Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches and more!

Vanilla bean paste — Substitute for 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Gel food coloring — Optional for a colored glazed top

Edible gold luster dust — Optional topping

How to Make Cream Puffs

To prepare the cream puff shells:

1 — In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt and boil over medium high heat.

2 — Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Then, add all of the flour, and quickly stir to combine.

3 — Stir the mixture constantly for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of your saucepan to form a ball and leaves a thin film or coating on the bottom of your pan. Allow to cool.

4 — Place the cooled dough ball into a mixing bowl. With a hand or stand mixer, begin mixing in your eggs one at a time on medium speed. Make sure each egg is well combined into the mixture before adding the next egg. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes.

5 — Once all of your eggs have been added in, mix in your cinnamon. You know how your Choux Pastry dough

6 — Pour your dough onto your piping bag, fitted with the large plain round tip.

7 — Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

8 — Pipe 2-inch circles of dough on the lined baking sheet. Keep them about 1.5-inches apart. If your puffs have little peaks, dab a clean finger in a little water to soften the peaks.

9 — Lightly brush each puff with egg wash, and bake in the oven at 350 F for 12 minutes.

10 — Then, raise the oven temp to 425 F degrees, and bake for another 10-13 minutes. You’re looking for a raised puff, golden brown in color, and hollow in the middle. Allow the puffs to cool completely to room temperature before filling.

To make the pumpkin filling for cream puffs:

1 — While your puffs are cooling, whip your heavy cream until stiff peaks have formed. You can make your own by hand… but only if you need an epic arm workout. So we recommend using a hand or stand mixer on medium speed.

2 — In a separate bowl, combine the rest of your filling ingredients (pumpkin puree, whipped cream cheese, powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla bean paste) until well combined.

3 — Next, fold whipped cream into your pumpkin mixture and add to a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip. Now we’re ready to fill these pumpkin choux!

How to fill your pumpkin cream puffs:

With a sharp paring knife, cut a small x in the bottom of your puff and fill with pumpkin pie mix, yum! Place filled cream puffs in the fridge while you prepare the glaze.

Combining our love for pumpkin pie, cream cheese and a flaky pastry dough, these Pumpkin Cream Puffs are absolutely our new favorite dessert. And they’ll be yours too once they cool and you have a bite!

Decorating Your Cream Puffs

Typically, cream puffs are topped off with confectioner’s sugar, but we wanted to get extra fancy. So for our pumpkin pie cream puffs, we used gel food colors to paint the tops.

To make the glaze:

1 — In a bowl, add powdered sugar and mix in 1 tablespoon of water at a time. You’re looking for a smooth, but thick consistency, most like a donut glaze. You should be able to easily dip the top of your cream puffs without it running off the top.

2 — Before you dip, separate the glaze and color with desired colors. We prefer the gel colors because they’re super pigmented and won’t thin out your glaze.

3 — Dip each puff and allow it to dry completely before adding any food color splatters, sprinkles or luster dusts. Decorate and you’re ready to enjoy!

For a shimmer effect:

Then, we sprinkled some edible gold luster dust for a shimmery effect. They’re fun for topping desserts or even making DIY lipstick glassware. You could even lightly dip your pumpkin cream puffs in the luster dust.

Recipe Notes and Tips

What is the purpose of the egg wash? How do you make egg wash?

Our pumpkin cream puff recipe calls for egg wash. Egg wash is a mixture of egg and water. The ratio is typically 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water.

It’s brushed on top of bread and pastries right before going into the oven solely for aesthetic purposes. It does not affect the flavor. Egg wash is how baked goods achieve that shiny, golden brown finish.

Why are my cream puff shells flat?

If your cream puffs look deflated, it is most likely because they are under-baked or the oven was open too much so too much steam escaped. Or the opposite where they were not pierced enough for steam to escape before filling them. It’s also possible that the dough had too much liquid.

Another way to fill the shells:

Simply cut the shells in half instead, and fill one half with the pumpkin pie filling.

How to store cream puffs:

Store your pumpkin filled cream puffs in an air-tight container. They actually keep better in the freezer so that they don’t stale. Cream puffs will defrost quickly at room temperature.

More Easy Pumpkin Recipes

We love that this dessert let’s you get creative, add some colorful icing, a touch of sprinkles, and you have yourself little masterpieces. Now you’re ready to serve your guests some yummy treats with this easy Pumpkin Cream Puffs recipe!

For more easy pumpkin recipes, check out some of our favorite below —