There are some meals where dinner rolls or a simple baguette just won’t do. You want something impressive – but it would be GREAT if it was also easy. These Gougères are both.
“Gougère” {pronounced goo-zhehr} is the French word for “cheese puff.” Whatever you call them, they’re addictive. Every time I serve these, someone tries to hoard the bread basket. Those that have had them before know enough to take {at least} two when said basket goes by.
I had tried other versions in the past. They weren’t that easy, and I certainly couldn’t do the work ahead of time. A few years ago, the LA Times ran a recipe that wasn’t only simple, but made it possible to have hot-out-of-the-oven Gougères at a moment’s notice.
Pulling these together takes maybe 10 minutes. The mixture is then placed into a plastic zip-top bag with a corner snipped off {or pastry bag fitted with a pastry tip if you’re that fancy} and squeezed into mounds onto a cookie sheet. {Even simpler, drop generous spoonfuls – say a tablespoon or so.} Freeze them – raw. Then bake whenever you need a slam-dunk appetizer or melt-in-your-mouth bread to go with dinner.
Gougères
Author: Russ Parsons for the LA Times
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 7 tablespoons (3½ ounces) butter
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Pinch sugar
- 1¼ cups (5 ounces) flour
- 4 to 5 eggs
- 1¼ cups grated Gruyère (5 ounces), divided
- Freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the dough forms a ball and the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook and stir for a full 2 minutes).
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and beat for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly. Add 4 eggs and continue to mix until completely combined and the batter has a smooth, silky texture. Stop the machine and lift up the beater to check the consistency of the batter. It should form a peak with a tip that falls over. If it is too stiff, beat in the white of the remaining egg. Check again and, if necessary, add the yolk. Finally, mix in three-fourths cup of Gruyère and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a three-eighths-inch plain pastry tip with the gougères batter. Pipe the batter into 1-tablespoon mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the gougères, as the mixture will spread during baking. {Alternatively you can drop the dough by spoonfuls onto your sheet.} Sprinkle the top of each gougère with about one-half teaspoon of the remaining grated cheese. (At this point, the gougères can be frozen on the baking sheets until solid, then stored in the freezer in a tightly sealed container.)
- When almost ready to serve, transfer the frozen gougères back onto the lined baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees until they puff and hold their shape, 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until they are a light golden brown color, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. When you think the gougères are done, break one open; it should be hollow and the inside should be cooked but still slightly moist.
- Remove the pans from the oven and serve the gougères while hot.
Here’s a note about the picture. This past Christmas, our dear friends Doug & Lorrie stopped by to deliver some very special gifts. Lorrie gave me the spoon and the blueberry jam you see in the photograph, hoping they’d inspire a Raisin & Fig post. First, could she BE more thoughtful??! Second, I knew right away that both the spoon and the jam were perfect co-stars with these tasty little morsels.
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