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savory

gougère

gougere

you know, i usually try to keep things casual with meals at home. my ideal dinner is pretty much sausage, peppers and onions on an italian roll with provolone cheese and tater tots. but sometimes, when i get in the mood, i like to get a little fancy. fortunately for my sanity (and my wallet), i tend to only get fancy with one aspect of a meal – imagine hot dogs served with caviar – so i’m always on the lookout for dishes that straddle the line.

gougere

the gougère is the perfect solution: a french creation made with a swiss cheese, so you know it’s great right off the bat. it’s fancy enough to serve on its own as an hors devour but still goes great as an accompaniment to a hearty meal. gougère are basically extremely light cheese puffs, simple to make, and hard to stop eating.

gougere

the secret is to use a very simple pâte à choux – a dough made from butter, water, flour and eggs. although they don’t look so graceful going into the oven, they come out beautifully puffed and fluffy, with no need for yeast or other leavening agents. the cheese flavor is very light, so if you want something more intense, just add more shredded cheese of your choice.

gougere

you may be surprised at first bite that such a simple recipe could yield elegant results. no matter what kind of meal you serve these with, they’ll impress. now i’m off to eat my sausage, pepper and onion sandwich with a side dish of cheese puffs. until next time!

gougere

gougère
from Great Bar Food at Home. makes 15 1 1/2″ puffs.

1/2 cup water
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 oz gruyère cheese, finely grated

1. preheat the oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it.

2. heat the water, butter and whie pepper in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. when the butter is melted and mixture simmers, dump in the flour all at once and stir. reduce the heat to medium and stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly, for a few seconds.

3. add the eggs one at a time, beating well, one at a time. beat in the mustard and all but 2-3 Tbsp of the cheese. drop by teaspoons or pipe through a pastry bag. i poured the batter into a baggie and cut one of the corners so i could pipe it. sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

4. bake for about 25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. serve warm. these will keep for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed airtight container, or frozen for up to 2 weeks. reheat at 350F for 10-15 minutes.

20 replies on “gougère”

I LUUUURRRVVVV Gougere! I started making them when I was in High School (and ain’t goin’ to tell you how old I am now haha), when my girlfriend and I were making everything French or vegetarian, at least.

Yes, they are easy and sooo yummmy…and the specialties that you make with that yummy Italian sandwich….so cute….I like to pour a glass of red wine for those special meals with Sabrettes-type(sp?) hot dogs.

Cute pix that you picked for the top of your page! keep on posting and cooking and making me drool.

Those look so very good! I think I had my first and only gourgeres at Central.

Btw, since you are such an amazing baker, you should think about joining The Daring Bakers on line “club.” It’s a lot of fun: let me know if you have any questions about the club, or just Google it!

These look excellent and I am going to be sure and bake some this weekend!
I always fine good stuff here Pete, just like the bacon chocolate chip cookies and candied bacon which were spectacular. Everyone loved those.
Keep up the great work!

oh man, I was already determined to make this and then Ana says they go well with champagne? This is my kryptonite meal! I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Pete – we made these last night. They were easy & lovely & delicious. Many thanks. As you said, the oven transforms them from ugly lumps to beautiful golden airy balls. I’m not used to baking without either yeast or baking powder. What makes them puff up like that?

eggs are the secret to making this dough rise. pate a choux is the base for eclairs, cream puffs, etc… i have filled savory pate a choux w/herbed goat cheese for appiteasers, no matter how many i make for a party, there are NO leftovers!

Love this cookbook. What cute gougeres. I think they will be perfect for watching NCAA basketball this weekend. I am sure the other watchers will want something else though.

Made these before I figured out I was’nt a huge gruyere fan. Substitute cheddar, cayenne and sriricha for the gruyere, white pepper and mustard. Tasty. Also Choclate powder/syrup and marscapone.

vue de face montrant sur un fond blanc. Le visage doit être comprise entre 1 et 1 3 / 8 pouces à partir du menton au sommet de la tête. Chapeaux, coiffures et uniformes, sauf mot de vêtements religieux quotidiens ne peuvent pas être portés.

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