Cheese Puffs Gougeres Recipes

FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F (200°C fan). Lightly grease 2 trays then line with parchment / baking paper.
• Place water, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil until butter is full melted.
• Remove from stove, add flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix until incorporated.
• Return to stove on LOW heat and mix for 1 minute (this dries the mixture out, see video for before/after).
• Remove from stove, leave for 2 minutes.
• Add 1 egg, mix vigorously until incorporated - batter splits at first, but it always comes together!
• Add 3 more eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next. Good arm workout! (Or use electric beater)
• Stir in 2 cups cheese.
• Drop 1 tablespoon mounds onto trays (small cookie scoop is ideal, otherwise use a measuring tablespoon and a teaspoon to scrape out. Can make larger - good for dunking!)
• Brush with yolk, then top with a pinch of reserved Cheese for topping.
• Bake 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes so they become crusty and inside dries out a bit.
• Serve warm as pre dinner nibbles, finger food at gatherings, or dunk into soups and stews!

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.

CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine the flour with the salt, black pepper, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
• Put the milk and butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. When the butter melts, turn heat to low. Add the seasoned flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
• Separate the white and yolk from one egg, reserving the yolk for glazing.
• Put the dough into a large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for one minute. Then beat in one egg and the extra egg white. Beat until completely absorbed into the dough. Then add the remaining 4 eggs, one at a time, waiting each time until the previous egg is completely absorbed. After all 5 eggs (plus the one egg white) have been incorporated, the dough should be smooth and satiny.
• Add the Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses, and pepperoni if you are using it. Incorporate thoroughly into the dough.
• Use a pastry bag to pipe dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. You can also drop dough from a teaspoon. For tiny puffs, mounds should be about 1/2 inch in diameter. From small appetizers, mounds should be 1 inch in diameter. For puffs large enough for filling, mounds should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Keep the size of the puffs uniform so they bake properly. Space puffs about 1 inch apart.
• Beat the remaining egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of milk to make a glaze. Lightly brush the tops of the puffs with glaze before baking. Sprinkle tops with your Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (5 minutes for tiny puffs). Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Bake 10 minutes more for tiny puffs; 15 to 20 minutes longer for medium or large puffs, or until puffs are golden brown. Test by removing a puff from the oven and breaking it open. The inside should be baked through. If it is still doughy or wet, bake another 5 minutes.
• Remove pans from oven and leave puffs on pans until cool enough to serve.

CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water with the milk, butter, sugar and salt and stir over low heat until the sugar, butter and salt have melted. Raise the heat to medium and bring to a healthy simmer.
• Take from the heat and immediately add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens, is smooth and no flour lumps remain. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring, careful not to scrape up the film, for a minute or two more.
• Transfer the mixture (panade) to a food processor. Mix for a minute to dissipate the heat. Add the eggs one at a time with the processor running. Pay attention to the consistency of the paste. It should be smooth and shiny, so you may only need 3 of the eggs. Stir in the cheese.
• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop generous mounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them an inch apart. Place in the oven, immediately reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese puffs are golden brown.

CHEESE PUFFS GOUGèRES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine the flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, salt, and chile pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
• Combine the milk, water, and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the dry ingredients and beat briskly with a wooden spoon until thoroughly incorporated. Return the saucepan to the stove and reduce the heat to low. The mixture will begin to pull away from the side of the pan. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes, letting any moisture evaporate.
• Remove from the heat and let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes or until cooled slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring briskly after each addition until the egg is thoroughly incorporated.
• Form the dough into 2-tablespoon size mounds and drop onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 to 2 inches between each puff. Top each with a generous tablespoon of cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes longer, rotating the pans halfway through. Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door slightly. Let the puffs cool in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• These can be frozen for up to one month and reheated in a 350°F oven for about 8 minutes. (Do not thaw first.)
• VARIATIONS:
• Add 2 tablespoons chopped chives and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese to the dough for an interesting appetizer. Slice the puffs horizontally and fill with shrimp, tuna, or chicken salad.

GOUGERES FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Add butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg to 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• When butter melts, reduce the heat to low.
• Add flour to saucepan all at once and beat with a wooden spoon over low heat for about a minute until mixture pulls away from sides of the pan.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Add cheese to pan and beat with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.
• Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating each into the batter until well mixed before adding the next.
• Continue beating mixture until it is smooth, shiny and firm.
• Drop batter in small spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Beat remaining egg with 1/2 tbsp water, then brush tops of uncooked gougeres with egg wash.
• Bake in upper third of the over for 15-20 minutes or until golden and doubled in size.
• Remove from oven serve hot or can be served at room temperature.

GOUGERES (FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Heat water, butter, salt, and chili powder in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter is melted.
• Dump in flour all at once and stir vigorously until the mixture pulls away from the sides into a smooth ball. Remove from heat and let rest for 2 minutes, to cool it down a bit. At this point, you can scrape the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don't have a mixer, let it cool in the pan, stirring it a few times to let the heat escape.
• Add eggs, one at a time, stirring quickly to make sure the eggs don't cook. The batter will first appear lumpy, but after 1 minute or so, it will smooth out. After the eggs have been added, let cool until tepid.
• When the dough has cooled, stir in a generous 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese until well mixed. (If dough is not cool, the cheese will melt.)
• Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a wide, plain tip. Pipe into mounds, evenly spaced apart, making each about the size of a small cherry tomato. Top each puff with a bit of the remaining cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake until completely golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.