Cream Puffs

Real custard filling 3/4 C. sugar 1/4 C. cornstarch pinch of salt 3 C. milk 3 eggs, beaten 3 Tbsp. butter 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla Filling 2 family size pkgs. French vanilla pudding 2 eggs, beaten 5 C. milk 1 tsp. vanilla Chocolate glaze 4 squares unsweetened chocolate 1 Tbsp. margarine 2 C. confectioners sugar 6 Tbsp. hot water Bring Water, butter and salt to a hard boil in a medium pan. Turn heat down, pull pan almost off burner & dump flour in. Mix quickly until mixture forms a ball. Remove pan to a cloth and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, until each is completely incorporated. Don't worry, this dough will get kind of curdled looking as you start beating in the eggs; just keep stirring, they will eventually mix in. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes, take out, slit, then bake 10 more minutes. After baking, cut tops off and pull out any excess dough which would make filling the shells difficult. It's better to do this when the puffs are warm. Real custard filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a 2 qt. saucepan. Slowly add milk, stirring to combine. Cook, stirring, until thick and it comes to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir a little of hot mixture into beaten eggs, then pour back into saucepan. Bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool. Filling: Mix pudding according to pkg. directions, cutting back total milk by 1 C. (which should equal 5 C.) Pour a little pudding into eggs, then pour mixture back into pudding. Cook over low heat a bit. Add vanilla. Cover and cool. Spoon into puff shells. Chocolate Glaze: Melt choc in double boiler, with margarine. Stir in sugar & water. Drizzle from a spoon over filled puffs. To make eclairs, shape dough into fingers before baking. Bake 30 minutes; slit side of each and bake another 10 minutes. Fill and glaze the same as cream puffs. Notes: Substitute a fruit glaze for the chocolate - put a tsp. under the top and then sprinkle all with confectioners sugar. Fill puffs with stabilized whipped cream. Could add beaten cream cheese, flavored with fruit (apricot is good, then glaze tops of puffs with melted apricot jam) Fill shells with egg salad or chicken salad...whatever sounds good - in the little shells, these make nice appetizers. Can even fill large shells with a meat mixture, for a main course. Just make sure it's not too moist - chicken or seafood in a thick cream sauce, for example.