Craquelin

Cup of Yum
1. Start by making the craquelin, which must spend about twenty minutes in the freezer.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter. After the formation of a sandy texture, mix together until obtaining a homogeneous dough.
3. Place the craquelin dough between two sheets of parchment and, using a rolling pin, roll it out thinly to ⅛ inch (2 to 3 mm) thick.
4. Using a circular cookie cutter (about 1 inch / 3 cm in diameter), cut out circles of a diameter roughly similar to the future choux.
5. Place the dough in the freezer while you make the choux.

Choux pastry

1. Place a bowl in the freezer.
2. In a saucepan, pour the milk and water.
3. Add sugar, salt and diced butter.
4. Place the pan over low heat to melt the butter.
5. Stop heating as soon as the butter is melted and there is a very slight boil. The mixture must be at a temperature of around 130 F (55°C).
6. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the flour all at once.
7. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon, taking care not to leave any lumps, until a dough forms. This dough is called panade.
8. Return the pan to low heat to dry out the panade. This takes about a minute: the dough should come away from the sides of the pan and start to leave marks on the bottom.
9. Place the panade in the bowl that was cooled in the freezer and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
10. Add the eggs one at a time, using a wooden spoon.
11. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175°C).
12. Transfer the dough to the pastry bag fitted with the piping tip and place the choux, spaced apart, on a perforated baking mat (Silpat).
13. Take the craquelin plate out of the freezer.
14. Gently peel off the small circles of frozen dough, by hand or using a spatula, and place one on each choux, with light pressure to make them adhere.
15. Place in the oven and cook the chou for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the oven, until golden brown.
16. Turn off the oven and let them cool in the turned off oven, leaving the door open.