Cream Puffs

I got this recipe from one of my best childhood friends, Cami. It is without a doubt one of my very favorite recipes. My family requests it all the time. My kids have asked for this a couple times instead of birthday cake. So, they get a really big puff with a candle! My oldest asked my mom the other day what her very favorite dessert was and she said these cream puffs. They are wonderful.

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cups butter

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 package vanilla pudding mix

1 tub cool whip

chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water and butter and bring to a boil over medium heat (like the first picture). Stir in the flour and salt, cook, stir well until mixture leaves the sides of the pan in a smooth ball (like second picture). Then remove the pan from the heat.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing very well after each addition until the mixture is smooth and glossy. It might take a minute, but it will get there. And if you triple the recipe like I always do - then you may have a little bit of a tired arm!

Spoon 6 mounds of the dough 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheet. I just use a large spoon and plop it onto the sheet. I like the puffs to be a little uneven, with personality!

Bake them for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Immediately prick them with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape - dont forget! Remove from the cookie sheet - I just always transfer them to another cool one - and allow them to cool completely.

Open up the top of the puff and if it is too dense, remove some of the inside dough (like the first picture). Prepare the vanilla pudding according to directions on the box and after it has set up, mix it with a tub of cool whip. Really, you should just lightly fold the two together or the mixture can become a little runny. Fill the puffs with the pudding mixture (like second picture!) I like to use the sugar free pudding and the fat free cool whip - you can't tell the difference and it makes me feel a little less guilty.

Put some chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl and melt them until smooth. I start with 30 seconds, then 20 and then do it in 15 second intervals until smooth. Coat the top of the cream puff with melted chocolate and allow them to harden up in the fridge.

We like to eat them by taking off the top and eating the chocolate part first. Who am I kidding, we like to eat them any way. Once, when we were newlyweds I doubled the recipe one Sunday afternoon and Pete and I ate all 12 of them. It was a great Sunday.