Creme Puffs (Traditional recipe)

Happy Friday to all! As promised, below find my traditional recipe for the creme puffs, shown on the cover page of my blog. Easy to make, they can make a confident baker out of all of you out there that think that you can't make an elegant dessert. An impressive dessert that  can be whipped up in under an hour!  How can you beat that?

Ingredients

Pastry

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar (optional )

Filling

 1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Begin stirring to cool the dough slightly. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in all of the eggs at  one  time, mixing well. Use piping bag to swirl dough onto parchment on cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Bake until lightly browned,  (about 20 minutes) then poke a hole in the base of each to let the steam escape.  
4. Whip the remaining cream, sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
5. When the shells are cool, split and fill them with the whipped cream using a pastry bag to pipe into the shells.
6. If desired, melt 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and a drop or two of water and drizzle over filled creme puffs.