“’Course they are. Tell you what…I need something special for a birthday. I was going to run to the Red Owl and pick up a cake, but those cream puffs would make it a really special party. How about selling me half of what you have there? You can keep the rest for freezing and whatever else you want to do with them.”

“Deal.” Hannah started arranging the cream puffs on a platter. “Bring back the platter, okay?”

“You got it. This is going to make for a really special birthday.”

Hannah placed the last cream puff and covered the platter with plastic wrap. “If you’re not going to serve these right away, refrigerate them. They should be fine for hours. Whose birthday is it anyway?”

“Somebody at the gym.” Mike handed her some folded money and picked up the platter. “Just let me know if that’s not enough. Now I’d better get going or I’ll be late. I’ll call you and tell you how it goes, Hannah. Everybody’s going to just love these.”

HANNAH’S VERY BEST CREAM PUFFS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 Tablespoons, 1/4 pound) butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon white (granulated) sugar

1 cup flour (pack it down in the measuring cup and level off with a knife)

1½ teaspoons baking powder

4 extra large eggs (at room temperature)

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam (or any nonstick cooking spray that doesn’t contain oil or butter), or line it with a sheet of parchment paper. (You’ll need 2 cookie sheets for mini cream puffs.)

Place the water in a heavy saucepan. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the water. Sprinkle in the salt and the sugar.

Turn the burner on medium to melt the butter.

While the water is heating and the butter is melting, measure out the flour and place it in a bowl. Add the baking powder and stir it in with a fork.

When the butter has melted, turn up the heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil. Turn the burner to low and dump in the flour mixture all at once, stirring it in quickly with a wooden spoon. After a few moments of vigorous stirring, the dough will clean the sides of the saucepan and begin to “ball up.” (This takes about 30 seconds.) Pull the saucepan from the heat and turn off the burner.

Let the dough sit on a cold burner or on the counter to cool for 20 minutes.

When the dough has cooled, break an egg and add it to your dough. Beat it in with a wooden spoon. Continue to beat vigorously until the egg is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until each egg is incorporated and the dough is smooth again.