Cream Puffs

I made these this weekend because we were going to have a family over for dinner. (We asked two different couples and neither could come. But they both had really good excuses.) We felt like losers:( Anyway, it was okay because we just brought some to our neighbors. It is surprisingly easy to make cream puffs. And totally worth it!

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat water and butter to rolling boil in 2 1/2 quart saucepan. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat.

3. Beat in eggs, one at a time with a spoon. (For some reason I always use a wooden spoon.) Continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes. Cut off top third of each puff; pull out any strands of soft dough.

5. Fill puffs with cream filling; replace tops. Dust with powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Store remaining dessert covered in refrigerator.

Cream Filling

1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Gradually stir in at least half of the hot mixture into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into bowl. Press plastic wrap on filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 1 hour until cool.
Chocolate Frosting

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 tsp. butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp. hot water

Melt chocolate and butter in 1 quart saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and water. Beat until smooth and spreadable.

These are totally doable ahead of time. I actually made the pudding part of the filling and the dough part the night before. So the next day I just had to whip some cream and fold it in and then fill my puffs and drizzle chocolate over them.