Gougères. The perfect appetizer for the holidays.
So impressive, so fancy, so French. And yet, they are so easy to make. Even better, they can be made ahead and frozen, then simply reheated in the oven when your guests arrive, as they are best served warm.
Gougere are simply a savory cream puff. I first learned to make cream puffs in college, when I spent my summers in the dessert kitchen of a sleep away camp in New Hampshire. My boss, whose late husband had been a French-trained chef, brought his recipes into the camp kitchen and ran the place like it was the French Laundry. She taught me how NOT to put the knives in the sink (after she cut her hand on a knife I had left there, I still feel terrible about that), how to bleach and scrub a wooden counter, how to ice a cake (a first thin layer tamps down the crumbs…) , and most importantly, how to make cream puffs. I still remember boiling the water and butter in the big pot on the stove, then mixing in the flour till it held together and formed a skin on the bottom of the pan. Next we dumped the dough into the big standing mixer, let it cool and added the eggs one at a time. Finally, we piped them onto industrial sized cookie sheets and popped them into the oven. The most fun part was filling the cooled puffs with cream using this industrial sized metal bucket with a pump handle and nozzle – I have no idea what that thing was called, but it was so much fun!
Anyway, gougère are not cream puffs per se, but a cheese puff made without sugar and filling.
Don’t be intimidated by the gougère’s fancy shape, which I messily accomplished using a pastry tube and star tip. You can make something equally impressive (and with much less of a mess) using a small scoop. Which, by the way, is also a great size scoop to use for making chocolate chip cookies.
Before learning to make gougères, however, you must learn to pronounce their name. Fortunately, I have guy who can help you with this…
Now you’re all set. Happy gougères making!
Gougères
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 large pinch kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 3 1/2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated, plus more for dusting
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
- 1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon till smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan and a film develops on the bottom of the pan, or when temp reaches 175 Farenheit on an instant read thermometer – about 2 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until dough is 145°F (63°C) on instant-read thermometer (you don;t want the dough to cook the eggs when adding them). Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the cheese and the pepper and nutmeg
- Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip . At this point, the gougères batter can be held in the sealed pastry bag at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto the lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (Alternatively drop mounds using a small scoop onto the lined baking sheets.) Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat in a 350° oven until piping hot.
Gougères media links
- Serious Eats has great prep pics
- Food & Wine has a nice prep video
