| I served cream puffs filled with peppermint ice cream and topped with fudge sauce. This year I couldn't find the peppermint ice cream anywhere so I created my own by softening vanilla ice cream, mixing in some crushed peppermint candy and letting the ice cream harden. It was delicious and a hit with our guests. Ann Cream Puffs 1 cup water
½ cup of butter (1 stick)
¼ tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 large eggs
Sublime Hot Fudge Sauce
1 qt vanilla ice cream, slightly softened Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a large cookie sheet. Prepare choux pastry: In 3 qt saucepan, heat water, butter and salt to boiling over medium heat until butter has melted. Remove from heat. With wooden spoon, vigorously stir in flour all at once, stirring until mixture leaves the side of the pan and forms a ball. Add eggs to flour mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is smooth and satiny. Drop pastry by slightly rounded ¼ cups in 8 large mounds, 3" apart on prepared cookie sheet. With moistened finger, gently smooth tops. Bake until deep golden, 40-45 minutes. Remove puffs from oven; with tip of knife, make small slit in side of each puff to release steam. Turn off oven. Return puffs to oven and let stand 10 minutes. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile prepare Sublime Hot Fudge Sauce. With serrated knife, cut each cooled puff horizontally in half; remove and discard any moist dough inside puffs. To serve, place ½ cup scoop vanilla ice cream in bottom half of each cream puff; replace tops of cream puffs. Spoon fudge sauce over puffs. Sublime Hot Fudge Sauce 1 cup heavy or whipping cream
¾ cup sugar
4 squares (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsps light corn syrup
2 Tbsps butter
2 tsps vanilla extract In heavy 2 qt saucepan, combine cream, sugar, chocolate and corn syrup. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook at a gentle boil, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla until smooth and glossy. Cool completely. Makes about 1-3/4 cups. Source: Great American Classics Cookbook | 
