Pets-de-nonnes

Yesterday, I wrote of the Baby Jesus saucisson...the mini jesus air dried sausage and recieved this bit of info. It was named because of the string web that it is wrapped in, like the swaddling clothes of the infant jesus. That's very nice and if it so, what is the string wrapping of the larger, maxi jesus supposed to resemble?
The playful use fo religious names in French cuisine really comes into full play in the wonderful world of patisserie. There are Jesuits, which are triangles of crispy puff pastry with sugar crystals, sacristans, which means "altar boys", they are little sticks of puff pastry glazed with sugar and sometimes dipped in chocolate. There are the classic favorite, found in every patisserie in France, Les Religeuses...or the proper name for nuns. They are composed of 2 balls of cream puff (chou), the smaller one sitting on a larger one like a little head. The larger ball is filled with a chocolate or coffee flavored pastry cream and iced with a chocolate or coffee glaze.
Then there are the classic, Pets-de-nonnes, or Nun Farts.
First a little history of the name:
Fulbert-Dumonteil in his France-Gourmand states the birth of the Nun Fart took place at the Abbey of Marmoutier in the 1400's. The archbishop of Tours had come for a ceremony to bless a relic of the mantle of St. Martin and a great dinner was being prepared. The nuns were in the kitchen busy at the stoves when,
"Suddenly a strange, extended rhythmic noise, like the dying groaning notes of an organ was heard and as the dying breeze it produced was heard with amazed outrage by all the good sisters"
The author of this noise was a young novice nun, named Agnes and embarrassed she accidentally dropped a spoonful of Chou dough in a pot of hot grease.
Of course the dough puffed up and turned deliciously light brown and when it was eaten, they all felt it was as light as a nuns fart.
They are pretty simple to make, a lot easier if you have a deep fryer, which seems to be more of a standard item in a French kitchen than an American, but if you are brave, heat up a pot of oil, peanut or sunflower.

Pour 1/4 liter of water in a pot, heat it and add 50 grams of butter and 40 grams of sugar and a pince of salt. When the butter has melted, take it off the fire and add 150 grams of flour. Put the pot back on the heat and stir the mixture until the dough begins to detach from the sides and bottom of the pot.
Take it off the fire and add 3 eggs and any aroma you would like, such as a tablespoon of rum or orange flower water.

Then in the fryer, drop spoonfuls of the dough, about the size of a walnut. When they are golden brown, they are done. Sprinkle powdered sugar or regular sugar and cinnamon, as you please. Think of embarrassed Sister Agnes when you enjoy them.