Cream Puffs

 I was so scared about making homemade cream puffs but these are easy, and I was impressed at how they really worked out...  You can fill them with anything--pudding, strawberry cream, pipe in Chocolate Mousse, Bavarian cream or even whipped flavored cream cheese...

 

From Our Best Bites cookbook page 239

 

says they make 40 bite sized, but mine were larger and I made about 30

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1/8 teas. salt

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

powdered sugar

chocolate to dip into-- optional

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter and salt and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add flour all at once.  Stir quickly with a spoon until dough forms a ball.
3.Add one egg at a time, combining completely after each addition.  The mixture will be smooth and velvety.
4. Either drop the dough by scant teaspoons or spoon dough into a pastry bag and pipe it directly onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Teaspoons seem small, but the pastry will puff up and still be bite-sized.
5.Bake for 20-25 min. or until golden brown.  Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6.While the pastry is baking, prepare the chocolate mousse, or inside filling
7.Fill a decorating bag fitted with a large tip with the mousse, or inside filling... (I just spooned my whip cream and slightly unthawed frozen strawberries inside).
8.Gently insert the piping tip into the bottom of each pastry puff and squeeze filling into puff, being careful not to overfill. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or dip the top in chocolate and refrigerate until ready to serve.