This recipe yields enough for one baking sheet. The dough is so easy to make, and the puffs are so addictively-good, you will want to make two or three batches at once.
Gougères
Makes about two dozen bite-sized cheese puffs.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup filtered or spring water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon piment d'Espelette, substitute ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3/4 cup grated comté, substitute gruyère or sharp cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Combine the comté and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a single bowl.
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the unsalted butter, sea salt, and piment d'Espelette. Stir until the butter is melted and the salt is dissolved.
Dump in all of the all-purpose flour. Stir vigorously over medium heat until the dough forms a single, smooth ball that no longer sticks to the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool for 90 seconds.
Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring quickly to prevent them from scrambling. Do not add the next egg until the previous is fully incorporated. Keep stirring until the dough is no longer lumpy and forms a smooth, proper pâte à choux.
Fold in about 3/4 of the combined cheese.
Using a pastry bag with a plain tip (or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off), pipe into swirled mounds about the size of a large glass eye, evenly spaced about 1" apart. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake 10 minutes. Rotate the pan. Bake another 8 minutes. Remove, pierce the side of each mound with a sharp paring knife, and bake another 4 minutes until just golden brown. Remove. Ideally, serve and eat immediately, while piping hot.
