Heat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheet with parchment.
In a small saucepan over high heat bring ½ cup water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and stir in flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until mixture pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 sec. Let cool 2 min.
Add eggs one at a time, stirring after each, until batter comes together.
Drop slightly rounded teaspoonfuls of batter 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Smooth pointy tops with a wet finger.
Bake 10 min, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 min more. Let cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Cut off tops and fill with ice cream. Put four or five pastries in each bowl and drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.
For Fudge Sauce
Stir together sugar and unsweetened cocoa in a small saucepan. Stir in heavy cream and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium heat; boil 30 sec. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 month. Reheat over low heat before serving.
Notes
Don't be intimidated making cream puffs. These are hard to mess up. This pate au choux (cream puff dough) is simple and doesn't need to be piped. Simply spoon it onto parchment and bake.