Recipe from Sandy Olsen
Each batch of dough yields approx 18 eclairs. (Must make it one batch of dough at a time. When doubled it is troublesome to stir and gets too slimy.) Sandy made triple batch for family reunion (52-54 eclairs)
Dough
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or margarine (margarine is fine)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat water and butter to rolling boil. (Silver-stone Dutch oven works well.) Stir in flour and stir vigorously about 1 minute (off the heat) until mixture forms a ball. Beat in eggs by hand (one at a time works best, do not use an electric mixer!). Drop dough by heaping teaspoon onto un-greased cookie sheet (no more than 12 to a sheet even for large sheets). Buttering fingers frequently, pat and shape mounds into rectangles approx 1 1/2-inches x 3-inches. (Heaping tsp means between 1/8 and 1/4 cup dough per eclair). Bake about 25 to 30 minutes until they are deep golden brown (not light brown- if under baked they deflate when they cool). Cut off tops when cool and pull out any filaments of soft dough.
Filling
2 small boxes pistachio pudding (you will have some left over)
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip
milk
Make pudding as directed on box except use half as much milk as called for (i.e. if calls for 2 cups milk, use 1 cup per box instead). Fill puffs with pudding, replace tops. (If make triple batch, use 4 boxes of pudding, 2 containers Cool Whip).
Chocolate Glaze
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 tbls butter or margarine
1 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in sugar and vanilla. Mix in about 2 T (or more) hot water, 1 tsp at a time, until glaze is of proper consistency. (Usually needs more water than calls for.) (If make triple batch, tripe sauce- will have some left over. Can almost get by with 5 oz chocolate but not quite.)
Refrigerate immediately and keep cold until serving.
Note: to transport in cooler, use 2 wire baking racks and 5 toilet paper tubes to hold them apart with jelly roll pan on top
