Cream Puff Shells

On Stake Conference Sunday, we decided to make a dessert since we had a whole afternoon with no church. We tossed several ideas around, and then I remembered that I had cream puff shells in my recipes. Big Chubb has always said he wants to make them, so we did.

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

1. Preheat oven to hot (450 degrees).
2. Combine the water, butter, and salt and bring to a boil.
3. remove from the heat and add the flour all at once.
4. Stir vigorously until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball around the spoon. If a ball does not form almost immediately, hold the saucepan over low heat and beat briskly a few seconds.
5. Cool slightly.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is smooth and glossy after each addition.
7. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls unto a greased baking sheet leaving two inches between the puffs to permit spreading.
8. Bake 15 minutes.
9. Reduce the oven temperature to a moderate (350 degrees) and bake until no bubbles of fat remain on the surface and sides of the puffs feel rigid, about 30 minutes longer.
10. Cool.
11. Cut a cap off each puff and fill with pastry cream.
12. Replace cap.

Well, after typing in the recipe, I realized that we didn't follow ALL of the instructions. We stopped at step 8. I thought that they didn't look quite right, but didn't bother to go back and read the recipe again.

They turned out okay, but definitely would have benefited from more baking. Big Chubb made a chocolate pudding for the filling, and it wasn't anything spectacular. If someone will please remake, maybe someone can give a real review of the finished recipe.