Preheat oven to 450, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bring 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan (this usually takes less than a minute for me). Transfer dough to a bowl and let it cool for at least 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (a stand mixer is best for this). Using a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off, pipe the dough in 3-4 inch stripes on the parchment. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for another 20 minutes. Cool completely.
If you're feeling ambitious, you can fill the eclairs with homemade pastry cream (recipes abound on the internet, and I can't remember mine). I usually take the lazy way out and use a chocolate or vanilla pudding mix (cook and serve tastes much better than instant). Just fold 1 cup whipped cream beaten with 1/4 cup confectioners sugar into the pudding.
For the chocolate icing, I use Alton Brown's chocolate glaze recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-doughnut-glaze-recipe/index.html
2 Comments
Preheat oven to 450, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bring 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan (this usually takes less than a minute for me). Transfer dough to a bowl and let it cool for at least 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (a stand mixer is best for this). Using a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off, pipe the dough in 3-4 inch stripes on the parchment. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for another 20 minutes. Cool completely.
If you're feeling ambitious, you can fill the eclairs with homemade pastry cream (recipes abound on the internet, and I can't remember mine). I usually take the lazy way out and use a chocolate or vanilla pudding mix (cook and serve tastes much better than instant). Just fold 1 cup whipped cream beaten with 1/4 cup confectioners sugar into the pudding.
For the chocolate icing, I use Alton Brown's chocolate glaze recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-doughnut-glaze-recipe/index.html
good luck!