Put This In Your Mouth And Eat It!

Having nothing to do with Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner or for that matter any special dinner, I present to you one of my families favorite desserts.

Chocolate-Filled Cream Puffs

from the Hershey's Chocolate Cook Book, 1989

Cream Puff Cakes
1 C water
1/2 C butter or margarine (skip the margarine, it's not really that good for you!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 C all purpose flour
4 eggs
Confectioner's sugar (for dusting)

Heat the water, butter and salt to boiling in a medium sauce pan. Add the flour all at once, stir vigorously over low heat for about one minute or until the dough forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat, add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions until the dough is smooth and velvety.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls (scant) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes or until puffy and golden in color. Remove from heat and while the puff is still warm, slice horizontally through the top portion of the puff; save the top. Remove and soft dough filaments and let puffs cool completely. Fill with Chocolate Cream Filling, replace the tops and dust with Confectioner's sugar. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

Chocolate Cream Filling
1 1/4 C sugar
1/3 C cocoa
1/3 C cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 C milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 T butter (or margarine)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan, stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. While boiling, stir for one minute and then remove from the heat. Gradually stir in a small amount of the warm chocolate mixture into the beaten egg yolks, then return the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture in the pan. Stir and heat again until just boiling. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (pressed down so skin won't form), cool to room temp.

This recipe makes about one dozen cream puffs. You can make smaller cream puffs by dropping a tablespoon of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Enjoy!