I attended a fabulous Christmas Party last night, hosted by, Allison, a very dear friend of mine (pic below)!  I knew it was a get together that was not likely to disappoint...and I was right!  My friend, who I met at the wonderful school, The University of Maryland, whipped up some first class desserts that had just the right finish to the night's events!  So, in pure Epicurista style, I snatched the recipe from her and her husband (it is her husband's mom's recipe) and I am fully prepared to present it to you so that you can impress your guests just like Allison did with me!

Here we go!

Lydia's Famous (now that they are on the internet) Cream Puffs

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 4 large eggs

Filling:

• 1 box Instant Vanilla or Chocolate Pudding
• Whip Cream- as needed  (whisk these together as needed for consistency)

Topping:

• Melted chocolate chips

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine water, sugar, salt and butter and bring to a simmer.  Butter and sugar should be completely melted down.

3. Dump a cup of flour into the mixture, mix until it forms a ball as mixing.  Remove from heat when this happens.  Cool 2 minutes.

4. Add eggs one at a time, while mixing with electric mixer.  Completely mix before adding the next egg.

5.  Place parchment paper or sipat pad on pan.  Then, scoop Tbsp. sized spoonfuls of batter on pan.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then drop to 450 for 50 minutes.  They should look light brown when finished.

7. Puncture side of puff after 20 minutes of cooling.  This will dry out the inside of the puff so the cream will have space to fill (see pic).

8.  Fill with prepared instant pudding (and added whipped cream if needed for consistency purposes).

And enjoy these light, but delicous treats!