Cheddar Cheese Gougeres With Bacon Recipes

GOUGèRES (FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS)

Steps:

• Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium and, using a wooden spoon, immediately start stirring energetically. The dough will form into a ball and there will be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another two minutes or so to dry the dough: Dry dough will make puffier puffs.
• Turn the dough out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and elbow grease). Let the dough sit for a minute to cool, then add the eggs one by one, followed by the white, beating on medium speed until each one is incorporated before adding the next. The dough may look as though it's separating or falling apart -- just keep going, and by the time the egg white goes in, the dough will be smooth. Beat in the mustard, followed by the cheese. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.
• Scoop or spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough (I use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop), and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds. (The scooped dough can be frozen on the baking sheets.)
• Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 17 minutes. Serve immediately -- these are best directly from the oven. Storing: Although the puffs are best served hot out of the oven, they are still nice (although flatter) at room temperature that same day. If you want to keep baked puffs longer, freeze them and then reheat in a 350°F-oven for a few minutes.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer Instructions: Scoop the dough and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then pack them in an airtight container. You can bake them straight from the freezer; just give them a few more minutes in the oven.
• Note/Variation: Dorie adds ⅔ cup walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted and chopped, to these gougères. My family prefers them without nuts but it's a nice variation to try. Add them along with the cheese.

CHEDDAR GOUGERES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in cheese, chives and garlic., Drop by tablespoonfuls 1 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with remaining salt. Bake at 375° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

CHEDDAR CHEESE GOUGERES WITH BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup water, the butter and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and add the flour all at once. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon; the mixture will form a dough ball that will pull away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook for a couple minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes. Stir so that the dough cools more evenly; you want the dough to be warm, but not so hot that when you start adding the eggs they cook as they hit the dough. In a mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon, add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until the eggs are incorporated. The dough should become rather creamy. Stir in the grated cheese, bacon, thyme and a few grinds of pepper.
• Spoon out small balls (about a heaping tablespoon) of the dough onto the baking sheet, with at least an inch separating the spoonfuls. Cook for 10 minutes; lower the heat to 350 degrees F and cook until puffed up and lightly golden, another 15 to 20 minutes.

BACON-CHEDDAR CHEESE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a medium skillet, cook the bacon, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter, cheese, green onions, and pepper with a pastry blender or fork, and work just until it starts to form lumps and come together. Add the bacon. Add 1 cup of the cream and work just until it becomes a sticky dough, being careful not to overwork.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat until it comes together. Form into 2 large circles, about 7 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick and cut each into 8 wedges with a sharp knife. Transfer to baking sheet with a spatula, leaving 1/2-inch space between each wedge. Paint the tops of the wedges lightly with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and bake until golden brown, 22 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheet. Serve warm.

BACON GOUGERES

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup water, 1 sliced stick butter and 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper to a boil in a saucepan. Add 1 cup flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the mixture pulls away from the pan and looks shiny, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a stand mixer; beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, on medium speed until smooth. Stir in 6 finely chopped cooked thick-cut bacon slices, 3/4 cup grated smoked gouda and 2 tablespoons chopped chives. Transfer to a piping bag; snip off the end. Pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with more gouda.
• Bake at 400˚ F, until the gougeres are puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 20 minutes.

BACON-CHEESE GOUGèRES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. Toss together Gruyère and Cheddar in a small bowl, and set aside. Heat half-and-half, ½ cup water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Immediately add flour, salt, and nutmeg, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture forms a ball and bottom of pan has developed a thin film, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer dough to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high for 30 seconds to release steam and cool slightly. Decrease speed to medium. With mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium until batter is stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add bacon and 3 ounces of cheese mixture.
• Transfer dough mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a ½-inch pastry tip. Pipe 1½-inch mounds of dough (about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Tap tops of dough with a lightly moistened finger to flatten slightly. (Alternatively, use a 1¾-inch ice-cream scoop to scoop dough onto baking sheet.) Sprinkle dough with remaining cheese mixture (about ½ teaspoon each).
• Bake 1 pan in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F, and continue baking until golden brown, risen, and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool gougères on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425°F, and repeat baking procedure with remaining pan of dough. Serve gougères while still warm.

CHEDDAR-WALNUT GOUGèRES

Steps:

• Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put the butter, milk, salt and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once, set heat to medium-low and stir without stopping until the mixture pulls away from the pan easily and comes together in a ball. Keep stirring energetically for 3 minutes more; the drier the dough, the better the gougères. Scrape the dough into a mixer with a paddle attachment (or into a large bowl, if you're mixing by hand), and let sit for 1 minute.
• With the mixer at medium speed, add the 4 eggs one by one, and beat for 1 minute after each goes in, scraping the bowl as needed. As you're working, the dough may break into curds; just keep going - it's always fine once the egg white goes in.
• Beat in the egg white, then the mustard. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and blend in the cheese followed by the nuts. Give the dough a few good beats with a sturdy spatula.
• Working with a small cookie scoop or 2 spoons, scoop balls, each about 2 teaspoons, onto the sheets, leaving an inch between each. (Gougères are excellent baked from frozen. They can be frozen at this point; set them in an airtight container once frozen solid.)
• Working with one baking sheet of fresh gougères at a time, slide the gougères into the oven and turn the heat down to 375. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the gougères are puffed, golden and firm enough to pick up. (If baking frozen gougères, arrange them on a lined baking sheet, and leave at room temperature while you heat the oven. You may need to bake them a couple minutes more, so keep an eye on them.) Serve immediately. Baked gougères can also be reheated briefly in a 350-degree oven.

GOUGèRES WITH PANCETTA AND SAGE

Steps:

• Put pancetta in a large skillet and place over medium heat. Cook slowly, stirring, until fat is rendered and meat is well browned and crispy all over, 12 to 17 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Sprinkle sage into the hot fat in the skillet and cook until crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate with pancetta. When cool, finely chop pancetta and sage together.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a sturdy mixing spoon).
• In a saucepan, bring 1 cup water, butter, salt and cayenne to a boil. Stir in flour all at once, and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until dough forms a mass and pulls away from the sides of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will be quite stiff.
• Scrape into the mixer and beat until cooled slightly, about 30 seconds. Add one egg at a time, letting it fully incorporate before adding the next. (If you don't have a mixer, you can do this by mixing dough vigorously with a sturdy spoon.)
• When eggs are incorporated, add Gruyère and continue to beat until it is mostly melted into batter, then add pancetta and sage and mix until combined.
• Transfer batter to a large resealable plastic bag, and snip off 3/4-inch from one corner, or use a pastry bag. Pipe into balls, about 2 teaspoons each, leaving 1 inch of space between them. (Or, use a spoon to form the balls and drop onto baking sheets.)
• Sprinkle Parmesan on top, and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue to bake until golden and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve immediately, while still warm.