Mmmmm, mmmm! This recipe for Chocolate Eclairs is from the 1956 edition of Desserts Men Like. You know, being a man, I like eclairs for dessert, or breakfast for that matter! Actually… I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but I enjoyed eclairs when I was a kid. Anyhow, here is a retro recipe to keep your man happy (or you, if you are a man and reading this… because this a dessert Men like, got it?)

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sifted flour
4 eggs, unbeaten
Vanilla Chocolate Cream Filling
Bittersweet Topping

Set oven for very hot, 450°F. Grease a baking sheet. Put butter and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil over low heat. Add flour all at once, stirring rapidly. Cook and stir until mixture leaves sides of pan and gathers around spoon in smooth compact mass. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture looks satiny and breaks off when spoon is raised. Using a wet spoon, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Keep rows 6 inches apart. With a small wet spatula, spread each ball to form a rectangle, 4 inches long and 1 inch wide, rounding top and sides. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to hot, 400 degree F, and bake 25 minutes longer, or until puffed, dry and brown. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Cut eclairs part way through on the long side. Fill with Vanilla or Chocolate Cream Filling and frost with Bittersweet Topping.

Makes 18 eclairs.