Pâte à Choux Sucrée - Puff Pastry Dough

♥♥ Intermediate 

This past week, I took Ms. McKinley in to the Borders (5 days until they close for good!) to pick out some children's books on the cheap. Come to find out, the children's section was the first section to be raided by moms and teachers alike, as soon as the 'Everything must go!' sign went up in the window. However, there were still a few books left in the baking section - three of which I thought would make a great addition in cookbook collection. Sorry Kinley, we'll find you some books another day...

One of the books I picked up is called, Chocolate French. It's compiled by pastry chefs all over the world and focuses on the French influence on global cuisine. Totally up my alley. (The cover of the book shows some very tasty looking Eclairs, so I was sold on it instantly!)

The following pastry recipe is used in several different ways. It can be used to make cream puffs, eclairs, or profiteroles. It's the base to all great pastry treats!!!

Let's get baking.

What you'll need:

* 1 Cup of Flour
* 8 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
* 1/2 Cup of Water
* 1/2 Cup of Milk
* 5 Eggs
* 1 Tablespoon of Sugar

How it's done:

1. Place the butter in a saucepan with the water, milk, sugar, & salt. Stir, then bring slowly to a boil, allowing the butter to melt.

2. As son as the butter is melted, remove from the heat. Add all the flour into the liquid at once, then mix with a spoon until smooth.

3. Return to heat and continue to stir. Remove from heat when dough no longer sticks to the side of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and let mixture cool slightly.  (I let it cool for 5 minutes in a stainless steel bowl.)

4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each thoroughly until totally absorbed into the dough. The chox dough should be smooth, shiny, and thick. Stir it a bit more with the spatula to add air to the door and to lighten its texture.

5. Set the choux dough aside for use in profiteroles, eclairs, or cream puffs.

Yields approximately 20 large choux!