Recipes
Gougères (Cheese Puffs)
From the files of every French family. This can be prepared very quickly, and is always a crowd-pleaser.
Batter
- 1 cup water
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
Egg Wash
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon water
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet (or use silicone baking liners).
To make the egg wash, lightly beat the egg with ½ teaspoon water. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, salt, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. When butter melts, reduce heat to low. Add flour to saucepan and continue cooking over low heat while stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir for about 1 minute. When the mixture pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, remove from heat. Add the cheese to the saucepan; stir vigorously until it is mixed in well. Add one egg at a time, beating each egg into the mixture with the wooden spoon. (Use only 4 eggs.) Continue beating until batter is shiny and smooth.
Form each gougère by dropping batter, in heaping teaspoon size, onto the cookie sheet. Brush tops of gougères with the egg wash. Bake in top part of oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and doubled in size. Makes about 3 dozen.
Serve hot or room temperature.
Wine pairings- Red: Southern Rhône; Rhône-style wine from California; Australian Shiraz
- White: Viognier; Chardonnay