• Begin by making the pastry cream so it can chill. Refer to the notes below if you wish for a "no eggs, fast and easy" option.

Pastry Cream

• Measure the egg yolks, cornstarch, ½ cup of the milk and sugar into a small mixing bowl. Use a whisk to make sure the cornstarch is fully dissolved and all is smooth. Set aside.
• Measure 1½ cups of the milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat till the milk is starting to steam. Do not let it come to a boil. Stir and cook till it is just about to boil.
• Temper the egg mixture by adding about a ½ cup of the hot milk into the cold mixture while whisking. Next, add the egg mixture to the hot mixture in the saucepan, over the heat, while whisking. Continue to whisk and cook for a few minutes till it is slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat. Add in the vanilla using the whisk. Pour through a mesh strainer over a bowl. Smoosh it all through to make it extra smooth. This step is optional. If you wish to skip it, just pour it into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Push the plastic wrap down onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Choux Pastry

• Preheat oven to 450℉. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the water cooking till it is boiling. The butter does not need to be fully melted before adding the water.
• Turn heat to low and immediately add the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir till smooth and it forms a soft dough ball that pulls away from the sides.
• Remove from heat and add one egg at a time. Use the wooden spoon to fully stir in the egg before adding the next egg. Work quickly so the eggs don't cook and scramble, especially the first one. **This is a great arm workout! Especially if you are doubling the recipe! My daughter and I used to trade off with each egg. Now she is grown up and gone. I have transferred the hot dough to my stand mixer using a paddle attachment to mix in one egg at a time. It worked brilliantly.**
• Prepare a large baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil or cover with a Silpat or parchment paper.
• Spoon into a gallon sized Ziploc bag and try to push most of the air out before zipping it shut. Make a ½ inch snip across one bottom corner of the bag. Gently move the dough down to the open corner. Squeeze the dough onto the baking sheet in 3 inch long strips. Use a table knife to cut the dough off so you can move and add the next strip. Leave several inches between each strip. They will puff up as they bake.
• Bake at 450℉ for 15 minutes. Do NOT open the oven. Turn the heat down to 325℉ and bake for 15-20 more minutes. If you are at high elevation bake for 15 minutes. If you are at a lower elevation, bake at 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and use a chop stick or table knife to puncture each end of each pastry so they can cool inside and out.
• After they are fully cooled, fill they pastries with cream. Use a piping bag or cake decorator tool. Or split them in half and fill them like a sandwich. Or use a sandwich sized Ziploc baggie and snip a small hole across one bottom corner. Insert the open end into a punctured end as best as you can, then gently squeeze cream into the shell.

Chocolate Glaze

• In a medium microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave at 30 second intervals. Whisk with a fork or small whisk between each 30 second interval. When the chips are mostly melted, stir till they are fully melted. Be careful not to over cook.
• Once it is nice and smooth, take each eclair, one by one, and dip the top into the chocolate. Tip to the side so any excess will drip back into the bowl. Set on a tray to cool and set.
• Eat right away or store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• *The Pastry cream from scratch does not freeze well. They Pastry shells my be frozen and filled later, once thawed. OR if the cream filling in the notes below is used, the eclairs may be fully made and frozen on a sheet before transferring to a freezer bag and stored in the freezer for up to a month.