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Gougères are one of the best recipes to have in your repertoire: they look fancy, are easy to make and are real crowd-pleasers! Plus you’re learning one of the most basic French batters, a pâte à choux dough, which is so multi-purpose that it swerves from cream puffs and eclairs, to profiteroles, to gougères with ease. These are great appetizers for dinner parties or holiday entertaining (hint hint: Thanksgiving, eh?). You can make ahead and reheat in a low oven right before your guests come over.
What is a gougère you ask? How do you even say gougère?! Well, my friends, it’s a French cheese puff and it’s pronounced GOO-JER (think ‘Jerry’ with a soft J) and it’s wonderfully cheesy and hollow inside. Serve warm or at room temperature-although warm is best.
Since they’re hollow inside, you can split them open and fill them with anything that tickles your fancy…more cheese, perhaps? Or chicken salad, egg salad, make into mini tea sandwiches, and on and on and on.
If you’ve never made pâte à choux, let’s walk through it. Water and butter are combined in a saucepan over medium heat just until melted, then flour is added all at once. The dough will clump up into a ball; just continue to stir it until a light film is visible on the bottom of the saucepan. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs and stirring vigorously. You will think there is no way the dough will come together, but I promise it will! Stir in any flavorings (here we’ll use nutty Gruyère, chives and thyme) you’d like to add and spoon into equal-sized mounds on a baking sheet. Make sure there are no points of dough sticking up; if there are, just wet your finger and gently press them down. This will ensure they don’t burn in the oven! Bake ’em up and enjoy. Keep in mind that these are dangerously easy to pop in your mouth and will disappear quickly!
Gougères
- Yield: 12 puffs
Description
French cheese puffs perfect for an light appetizer with wine and cocktails or a vehicle for egg/chicken salad, tea sandwiches, etc!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons (40 grams) butter
- Big pinch of salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon (70 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the water, butter, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan and heat over medium until the butter is melted. Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour forms one clump, about 1 minute.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled slightly, add the eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to combine. The batter will appear lumpy, but with a little elbow grease and time (about 2 minutes), it will come together into a thick, sticky dough. Stir in the herbs and 2-1/2 ounces of the cheese, reserving the remaining for the top. Using a 2-tablespoon dough scoop or a spoon, portion the dough into mounds on the prepared cookie sheet. You should get about 12 mounds of dough. If there are any points sticking up on the dough, wet your fingers and gently push them down to avoid burning in the oven. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the heat down to 375° and bake for an additional 23 to 25 minutes until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- If you want to make ahead and serve warm, reheat in a 250° oven for about 5 minutes until warmed through.
Notes
Inspiration: Gougères on davidlebovitz.com
- Category: Appetizers, French
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