Eclairs

One of my husband's Easter traditions growing up, was that each of them received an Easter Basket with an eclair in it. This was how they knew who's basket was who's- each had their name written on it. I thought this might be fun to continue in our family as well, so thought I'd just run down to the grocery store, pick up a few and then write our kid's names on them.

Then my husband left for the entire day...with our kids! I had a whole day with nothing really to do (well, plenty of cleaning...but who wants to do that!?) So I figured, I might as well MAKE some eclairs instead of buying some (who wants to get dressed and leave the house on your kid-free day anyways!?) So I searched and searched for a recipe and came across this one from All Recipes. The reviews were awesome. The only thing I noticed were that about half of the reviews I read, didn't like the glaze. I didn't want to risk it, so I found another one from here, and tried it instead.

Oh. My. Goodness!!! They are SO good. Once I finished them, I decided I needed to try one...you know, to make sure it was edible. I licked my fingers clean and told myself I was only allowed to have one! These are sooo good and they really do taste store bought. And the best part is that, even though there are a lot instructions- they are really easy to throw together.

My only suggestion is that when you make the glaze, you work very quickly. The stuff hardens really fast and then you don't get really pretty glazy-ness on top. Next time I will work faster or be sure to keep it warm while I am putting it on the Eclairs. Maybe then they'll look a little prettier. ;)

Anyways- Enjoy! These are DELISH!
Makes about 10-11

What you'll need:

For the Pastry:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. water
1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt

For the Filling:
5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding
2 c. cold milk
1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

For the Glaze:
6 T. half and half (or if you have cream and milk on hand, do half of each of those)
4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 c. powdered sugar

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In medium saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil until butter is completely dissolved. Reduce heat to low and vigorously stir in the flour until it becomes a ball and leaves the sides of the pan.  Remove from heat and put in the bowl of a stand-mixer with the whisk attachment. Let mixture cool for a few minutes and then add one egg at a time- mixing well until completely incorporated each time.

Fit a piping bag with a #10 pastry tip (I used a number 808 in the brand I had) and pipe your dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. You want each to be about 1 1/2 in. wide by 4 in. long. Be sure to space they about 2-3 in. apart- they do get bigger in the oven.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 325 and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

For the filling, combine the pudding mix and milk. In separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold into pudding mixture.

There are a number ways you can fill these. You can cut them in half and spoon the mixture in and then put the top back on, or you can use a pastry tip and pipe it in through the ends, or you can cut little holes along the top and pipe it in that way. I used a Wilton #230 (long skinny tip) and just piped the filling in through both ends.  It worked great for me and I got them nice and full.

For the glaze, melt the chocolate and half and half in small saucepan. Once melted, quickly whisk in the powdered sugar. Either keep it warm while you are putting the glaze on each pastry, or work really fast. I didn't work quite fast enough and they sure don't LOOK store-bought. They may taste store bought, but I'm going to have to work on my glaze-application technique. ;)

Refrigerate until needed. Then Enjoy- these are SO good!