Red, ripe strawberries are right at home nestled inside puff pastry with sweetened whipped cream and luscious fudge sauce. Cream puffs don't get much better than this!

Strawberry Puffs

2 pint baskets California strawberries, stemmed and sliced Granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 1 /4 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 1 cup whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup prepared fudge sauce (see recipe for Quick Chocolate Fudge Sauce) Powdered sugar

In bowl toss strawberries with sugar, to taste; cover and chill.
Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
In 1-quart saucepan bring water, butter and salt to boil. Remove from heat; stir in flour all at once to blend thoroughly. Set over medium heat. Cook and stir until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Thoroughly beat in eggs one at a time.
Spoon batter in 6 equal mounds, spaced apart, onto lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake in center of oven 20 to 25 minutes until puffs are evenly browned. Turn off oven. Remove from oven and with thin knife cut a slit in each puff. Return to oven for 10 minutes, then cool completely on rack.
In bowl whip cream to form soft peaks; sweeten with sugar, to taste, and flavor with vanilla.
To assemble, halve puffs horizontally with serrated knife. Fill puffs with whipped cream and some of the strawberries. Drizzle with fudge sauce, thinning with a little water, if needed. Cover with puff tops. Dust lightly with powdered sugar. Serve with remaining strawberries, and accompany with additional fudge sauce, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Lowfat Variation: Substitute 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix made with 2 cups nonfat milk, as package directs, for the whipped cream. Substitute light fudge sauce for the fudge sauce.

Nutritional Information: Per Serving: 370 calories; 27 g fat; 150 mg cholesterol; 300 mg sodium; 28 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 6 g protein. Low Fat Variation Per Serving: 240 calories; 10 g fat; 90 mg cholesterol; 510 mg sodium; 35 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 4 g protein.