Cream Puffs/ Eclair

Ingredients:
* 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1 cup milk

* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup water
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 4 eggs

Directions:
1. Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

3. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the hot liquid into your mixer bowl and dump all 4 eggs in at once and mix IMMEDIATELY on med. speed. Mix until the dough is tacky and starts sticking to the side of the bowl and you're done (about 2-3 min). Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet (Don't grease your cookie sheet, or the bottoms will burn or get too brown).

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.

5.Poke a small hole with a toothpick in the side of each puff just to allow steam to escape and prevent them from falling.

6. When the shells are cool, cut the puffs in half horizontally and fill them with the pudding mixture ( whipped cream, chocolate, or lemon pudding), or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.




For Eclair :
Prepare the dough (choux paste) as above. Using a pastry bag with a large, plain tip, form the dough into 3" long rectangles. Bake and fill as above, and frost the top with chocolate frosting and/or chocolate shavings.

Tips store unfilled puff :
Refrigerator: If thoroughly baked, unfilled cream puffs may be refrigerated for a couple of days, but it does stale quickly, so I recommend freezing, instead. Before refrigerating, you'll first want to cut them open and remove the strands of dough to prevent sogginess. Wrap all puffs individually after they have cooled and before freezing. Place them is a resealable plastic bag being careful not to put too many in at once.

Freezer: If you have more dough than you need or want to make them in advance, bake all of it and freeze the finished puffs for up to 3 months (best at one month) and an airtight container and keep away from freezer odors. There's no need to cut cream puffs open or remove the strands of dough before freezing. Thaw at room temperature. To crisp, unwrap and place in a 325 degree F oven until warm. Let cool and fill as desired.

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