Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 to 2 tablespoon milk, half and half, or heavy cream
• 2 to 4 tablespoons pearl sugar

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To make choux pastry, place the butter, water, sugar, and salt in a saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil.  Take the pan off the heat when it boils, and dump in the flour.  Stir to incorporate with a wooden spoon.  Return to the pan to medium-low heat, and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until the dough comes away from the pan.  Scoop the dough out of the pan and into a bowl to cool down for just a couple minutes.  You’ll want to put that pan to soak right now.  Then, add one egg at a time, stirring for all you’re worth with that wooden spoon.  When all three eggs are absorbed, you’ll have a thick, smooth, and sticky dough.  Voila!  Choux pastry.

Use two tablespoons to drop tablespoon-sized mounds of choux pastry onto a Silpat-lined baking sheet.  Brush lightly with the milk/half and half/cream, and sprinkle with pearl sugar, remembering that these chouquettes will puff up and be much larger later than now, and so probably can handle more sugar than you think.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  Lower the heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chouquettes are puffed, golden, and hard to the touch.  Cool on a rack.