Girls Night and Cream Puffs

I spent a few hours hanging out with two special girlfriends last night, drinking hot tea, eating fresh, homemade cream puffs, and having deep conversation - in between getting up to assist/console/reprimand/check up on a houseful of noisy, boisterous, crazy children. Oh, that was the three 15 year old girls! The 6 little children were also contributing to the bedlam. But it was sweet "girl time". God has done some REALLY big things in the lives of both these ladies in the past 2 years, and they have also been big encouragers to me ... so we talked and talked and talked ... and then prayed for one another.
The cream puffs came about because Amanda was at her friend Ellie's house, and called to say that Ellie's mom, Eileen, wanted me to "whip up" a batch of cream puffs and come on over for a visit with her and our other friend, Carla. Well, I was at SuperWalMart when she called, and I only had about an hour to get dinner for Mark & Jason before going over to their house, so there was no time to "whip up" anything! No problem... I just bought a couple of ingredients and brought them with me! We set the girls to work in the kitchen, and voila! In no time, cream puffs! They really are an easy dessert to make, and oh so yummy!

Cream Puffs
2 sm pkgs instant pudding mix ( I use sugar-free White Chocolate )
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Mix together the instant pudding mix, cream, and milk. ( I beat it in my stand mixer ). Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a 2 qt. saucepan, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in flour and salt; mixture should form a ball. Let cool for a few minutes. Using a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Be sure to beat vigorously; you don't want the eggs to "cook" in the warm flour mixture. Mixture should be smooth and shiny. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Centers should be dry.
When shells are cool. split them and fill with the pudding mixture. Sift some powdered sugar over the tops, if desired.

Store in the refrigerator. Also, these are best if eaten right away, as they get soggy when they sit.

Makes about 20.

Amanda burned her finger while removing the hot pan from the oven.

Look closely and you'll see my daughter at the bottom of this pile!