simply irressitible caramel eclairs

Ever since I  watched the movie simply irresistible starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flannery , I have really, really wanted  to make those irresistible caramel eclairs , believe me those who have seen that movie will know what i am talking about and those who haven't , try watching it is a really cute movie . Finally after trying various recipes where some of them really flopped or some of them tasting very eggy I found a lovely recipe which is a very delicious , melt-in-your-mouth eclairs , so here goes .

Choux Paste :
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees c 

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once.
 Stir until a smooth ball forms, and pulls away from the edges of the pan.
 Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.
 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth.

It is better to wait the 5 minutes before adding the eggs. Adding immediately could cause the eggs to cook slightly and the dough won't rise well.

Put dough in a pastry tube with the large holed tip.Line of pastry should be about 1/2 to 1 inch. It will puff into a larger shell.

Pipe onto a greased baking sheet, in 3 to 5 inch strips.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15-20 min or until lightly brown 


Fill with vanilla pudding or instant pudding whatever you prefer .
Slice open the eclairs and fill in with a pastry tube , it is much neater .
Top them with the  caramel icing .

Caramel Icing 

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 


Melt everything together till it becomes a thick paste .

Chocolate chip Cookies

I have followed many chocolate chip cookie recipes but everytime i make them it turns into one big flat disc , no matter how many times I  have tried the result is the same and I think most of other cookie makers must have experienced this phenomenon.I guess it might be because I stay in a very humid country or maybe the ingredients I use are different but every chocolate cookie recipe I have tried turns out the same and it is actually quite a feat that I have manged to come up with one huge flat disc everytime, so this recipe is for all those cookie makers like myself , so please try this recipe and let me know how this one turns out . So here goes .....

INGREDIENTS

2 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt 

200 gms unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup white sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 egg (cold)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips 

1 cup toasted pecans (optional)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c .

Mix 2 cups flour, baking soda and salt and set aside 

Cream together the butter and the sugars till light and fluffy , beat in the egg and add the vanilla .

Stir in the chocolate chips and the pecans 

Now add in the half cup of flour till u can handle the dough well , roll it into a log and wrap it in plastic and chill it for a few minutes .

now cut it into 2 inch disc ( you can make giant cookies or smaller ones whatever you prefer)

Put the discs onto a baking sheet and bake for 23 min for a softer , chewier cookie or 25 min for a harder crisper cookie .

Allow the cookies for a few min and place them on a wire rack for further cooling .  

Store cookies in an airtight container to last longer .