Chocolate Eclairs or Cream Puffs

Submitted by: Debbie Hermansen

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup boiling water
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs

Heat oven to 400°. Melt butter in 1 cup boiling water. Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn't separate. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each until smooth.

Prepare a greased cookie sheet.

For Eclairs: If you have a pastry bag with a large round tip, you can squeeze the mixture out into bar type shapes--small or large if you make each bar thicker and longer.

For Cream Puffs: Drop by heaping tablespoons about 3 inches apart.

Bake at 400° until golden brown and puffy, about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size. Remove from oven, cool on rack. To fill with cream, split the sides with a sharp knife, then fill a pastry bag with thick pudding and squirt into middle. Frost top with chocolate frosting or Ganache.