Boiling: Bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, use a spoon to gently place the eggs into the pan. If you drop them in, you can break them. Also, you can use cold eggs, straight from the fridge. Boil for 30 seconds, then lower to a simmer and cook for 18 minutes (check to make sure it’s simmering, the eggs will make a little rattling sound but you should not see bubbles). Once cooked add to a bowl of ice cubes and water, enough to cover the eggs. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before peeling. 

Saffron: While the eggs are cooling, crumble the saffron threads between your fingers and place in a small bowl or cup. Add a tablespoon of boiling water and let it sit while the eggs boil. 

Peeling: Once the eggs have cooled 15 minutes, gently crack the egg all over (don’t do it too hard or you can break the egg white). Peel under running water. Rinse the egg to make sure there’s no shell bits clinging to it. 

Scooping the Yolks: Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and gently remove the yolk, it should come out cleanly. If it doesn’t, use a spoon to gently scoop out whatever yolk is clinging to the egg whites. I cannot stress gentleness enough. You don’t want to damage your little egg cups!

Mixing: Add the egg yolks to a bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork until small crumbles. Add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, saffron threads with water. Mix with the back of a wooden spoon to make the mixture as smooth and creamy as possible. Add white pepper and salt to taste. 

Stuffing: Use a mini scooper or a spoon to fill each egg cup. Or, you can pipe the mixture into the cups for a fancy look. 

Piping: Take the yolk mixture and place it in pastry bag with a 1M star decorator tip. Pipe each egg cup until filled. 

Garnishing: Garnish with smoked paprika and chopped chives.