Cream Puffs with Dark-Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup(s) water
• 6 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounce(s) bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup(s) half-and-half or light cream
• 1 tablespoon(s) sugar
• 1 quart(s) light vanilla ice cream

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour large cookie sheet or spray it with a nonstick spray that contains flour.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt to boiling on medium until butter melts. Remove saucepan from heat. Vigorously stir in flour all at once until mixture forms ball and comes away from side of pan.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until batter becomes smooth and satiny.
4. Drop batter by scant 1/4 cups into 10 large mounds, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet. With fingertip moistened with water, gently smooth tops to round.
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until puffs are a deep golden-brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven; with knife, poke hole in one side of each puff to release steam. Turn off oven. Return cookie sheet to oven and let puffs stand 10 minutes to dry out slightly. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool completely.
6. Using serrated knife, slice each cooled puff horizontally in half. With fingers, remove and discard any moist dough inside.
7. Meanwhile, coarsely chop chocolate. In 1-quart saucepan, heat half-and-half and sugar just to boiling on medium-high. Remove saucepan from heat; add chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.
8. To serve, place 1 scoop ice cream in each cream puff base; replace cream puff top, then drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.