Sound fancy? Definitely. Hard to make? Not at all! Serve these tasty puffs as an appetizer for your next party.
Ingredients
or1/2 cup milk (not skim)
or1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup)
or1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
or1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
or1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
or2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs (dill, thyme, rosemary, tarragon)
or1 cup all-purpose flour
or2 scallions (green parts only), finely minced
or1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Preparation
1.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and herbs. 3.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water, and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.4.
Turn the heat down to medium low, and add the flour mixture all at once. Stir together vigorously (hello upper body workout!) until flour is incorporated. There will be a film on the bottom of the pan (this is OK). A wooden spoon works great for this.5.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer. Turn on the mixer to medium speed, and add the eggs, one at a time, until they are incorporated. Add the cheese and scallions, and mix until just combined.6.
Transfer the dough to a pastry bag (or a ziploc bag; snip the corner tip off so that you can use it just like a pastry bag). Pipe equal size dough balls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, giving them each at least one inch (they will slightly puff and expand).7.
Bake the gougeres for about 20 minutes, or until puffy, slightly browned, and dry in the middle (break one apart. You need to taste test, of course).8.
Puffs can be served warm or at room temperature. To make them even more fancy, you can pop holes in the bottom and fill with an herbed cream cheese mixture.
