chocolate glazed eclairs

Growing up, these Chocolate Glazed Eclairs were a specialty dessert.  My Mom always made them for our birthdays or special occasions.  They look so fancy that I always assumed that they were hard to make.  I decided to break down and make them myself a while back and OH.MY.GOODNESS. these are so easy to make.  The recipe is long and appears to be complicated but it is really not that difficult.  I took them to a dinner party and everyone was thoroughly impressed!!  So if you are looking for an easy dessert to impress a crowd, this is the dessert for you!!

Eclair Shells:

1/2 c. margarine

1 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 c. water

Filling:

1 sm. pkg. instant vanill pudding

2 c. milk

1 sm. Cool Whip

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 c. (4 oz.) chocolate chips

1 c. powdered sugar

2 T.margarine

3 T. milk

**Don't get overwhelmed with all the directions.  I PROMISE this is not difficult.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt margarine in 1 cup boiling water. Reduce heat to low. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir in 1 cup flour until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan.  Remove from heat and cool a minute or two.  Beat eggs into mixture until thoroughly blended. When you start blending, you will think you totally screwed up.  It will look like a cottage cheesy mess, but just keep blending.  It will eventually be thick and smooth, with a satin sheen.  Drop mixture onto greased coolie sheet, 2 inches apart.  You can make 10 larges ones or about 20 small ones.  Smooth tops out with a spatula. Bake 40 minutes or until lightly brown.  Cut the shells in half (1/3 from the top) to let out steam and bake 5-10 minutes longer.  Do not under bake.  Cool before filling. 

Meanwhile, prepare pudding as directed on package.  Gently fold in Cool Whip.  Refrigerate until ready to fill shells.  Once shells have completely cooled and the filling has been refrigerated for a while, rill the bottom of the shell with filling. Replace tops.

In a smal saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and 2 tablespoons margarine, stirring constantly.  Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over the shells and refrigerate.  

Note:  I like to just drizzle the chocolate since I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but when my Mom saw my eclair she said I needed more chocolate.  There is plenty of glaze to add way more chocolate than the picture shown above.  Just add however much chocolate glaze makes you happy!!

Enjoy!!