Cheese Puffs (Gougeres)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine the flour with the salt, black pepper, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
3. Put the milk and butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. When the butter melts, turn heat to low. Add the seasoned flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
4. Separate the white and yolk from one egg, reserving the yolk for glazing.
5. Put the dough into a large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for one minute. Then beat in one egg and the extra egg white. Beat until completely absorbed into the dough. Then add the remaining 4 eggs, one at a time, waiting each time until the previous egg is completely absorbed. After all 5 eggs (plus the one egg white) have been incorporated, the dough should be smooth and satiny.
6. Add the Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses, and pepperoni if you are using it. Incorporate thoroughly into the dough.
7. Use a pastry bag to pipe dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. You can also drop dough from a teaspoon. For tiny puffs, mounds should be about 1/2 inch in diameter. From small appetizers, mounds should be 1 inch in diameter. For puffs large enough for filling, mounds should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Keep the size of the puffs uniform so they bake properly. Space puffs about 1 inch apart.
8. Beat the remaining egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of milk to make a glaze. Lightly brush the tops of the puffs with glaze before baking. Sprinkle tops with your Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (5 minutes for tiny puffs). Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Bake 10 minutes more for tiny puffs; 15 to 20 minutes longer for medium or large puffs, or until puffs are golden brown. Test by removing a puff from the oven and breaking it open. The inside should be baked through. If it is still doughy or wet, bake another 5 minutes.
10. Remove pans from oven and leave puffs on pans until cool enough to serve.

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Reviews (16)

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80

msmarieann

Dec. 18, 2007

"This recipe really worked well. I read the one review ahead of me who said they turned into cookies, and I have to admit that mine didn't do that. The only thing that was confusing was the matter of ..." See morethe eggs. You're going to separate and reserve 1 egg. The egg yolk you will mix with 2 Tablespoons of milk to make the glaze, and the white you're going to beat into the mix. When you incorporate the eggs, do so one at a time. Ensure that you mix them all very well after each addition. When I piped them out, I just used a Ziploc bag that I cut a 1/2 inch tip off one corner then piped them out. Don't flatten them, make nice little mounds. I also added a pinch of baking powder just to ensure they puffed up. It works everytime. I'm too much of a puss not to do that! Happy Baking!"

39

Cardlyn A

Jan. 5, 2008

"These came out great! The recipe -- which is really justcream puffs with cheese added -- is foolproof if you follow it correctly. Make sure the oven is hot enough, and make sure you beat each egg in..." See more completely before you add the next. You can't rush things, or you get cookies, like another reviewer said. I made mine a little smaller than ping-pong balls, poked a hole in each, and piped in fillings: crab salad, bacon-cheese dip, and Borsin cheese spread. Yum! "

22

inskydiamonds

Feb. 17, 2008

"I used pepper jack cheese instead of the Gruyere cheese to make them kind of spicy. I thought the recipe was easy to follow and made delicious puffs!..." See more"