Cream Puffs

By Mcnite

Rich creamy filled pastry puffs. Can be made into rounds or little eclairs with chocolate topping.

Ingredients

• for cream puff::
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• for filling::
• one box French vanilla instant pudding
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 1/2 pints of heavy cream
• 4 to 5 teaspoons of sugar.

Preparation

Step 1

Grease two cookie sheets
In two quart saucepan heat butter, water & salt until it boils. Remove from heat. Add flour all at once. Stir with wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of the pan. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition until smooth. Cool mixture slightly. Using a large spoon and rubber spatula drop batter onto cookie sheet in 12 mounds. You have to gauge this as to how big to make the dollops of batter because they grow some. I used to put it in a pastry bag, or large baggie and cut the end off and then pipe them into the shape of an éclair about 3 inches long.

Note….times are approximate depending on your oven. Bake 40 mins. Remove from oven, cut a slit in the side of each puff and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. It says turn off the oven and let them dry in the oven. Cool and slice top off and fill. These are tricky. I had to keep experimenting to get the times right. If you take them out too soon they fall in on themselves. Too long and they get burned. I used to watch until they were pretty firm and golden, then take them out and cut a top off. If it was gooey inside then I would cut the slit in them and bake a little longer. If there is only a little bit of unfinished inside then I would take them out, cut a slit and let them just cool on the table. Once cool you can cut the top open and fill.

Filling – In small bowl mix one box French vanilla instant pudding with ½ cup of milk. Mix until pasty.
In large bowl put 1 ½ pints of heavy cream. Add 4 to 5 teaspoons of sugar. Beat with a mixer. As it just starts to thicken, add pudding mixture and beat until thick like whipped cream.
TOPPING
I usually then put a chocolate top on them like éclairs.
2 squares of semi sweet chocolate
2 Tbl butter.
Melt over low heat stirring constantly.
Add 1 cup confectioners sugar and 3 Tbl milk.
Stir until smooth.
If too thin add a little more sugar, if to thick add a LITTLE milk at a time.