Banana Split Cream Puffs

There should be enough here to feed a small party, but don't say we didn't warn you! After they taste these, they won't want to "split"!

Serves: 12

Cooking Time: 50 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into quarters
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 large bananas, peeled and sliced into 18 slices each
• 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup strawberry preserves
• 3/4 cup hot fudge sauce, warmed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil over high heat. Add flour all at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat.
    
2. Add 1 egg to mixture and beat hard with wooden spoon to blend. Add remaining eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Each egg must be completely blended before next egg is added. As you beat mixture, it will change from looking almost curdled to smooth. When it becomes smooth, spoon out 1/4 cup of mixture for each pastry puff, spacing puffs evenly on a large ungreased cookie sheet.
    
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden and puffed. Cool on a wire rack. Cut each pastry puff in half crosswise and layer bottom of each with 3 banana slices. Scoop 1/2 cup of ice cream into each puff and top each with a teaspoon of strawberry preserves. Place pastry tops over preserves and spoon a tablespoon of hot fudge sauce over top of each. Serve immediately.
    

Notes

Assemble only as many puffs as you need. Keep the remaining puffs covered until ready to use.