There's something a little ironic about writing a post for Bastille Day literally hours after coming home from a trip to England, but such is the life of a (not-so) globe-trotting food blogger.
When the Holiday Food Blog Party gang decided to celebrate the French national holiday of Bastille Day a few weeks ago, I immediately called dibs on gougères. They're one of my favourite classic French pastries - golden bite-sized puffs of savoury choux pastry flavoured with cheese and herbs.
My go-to recipe comes from David Lebovitz. It comes together quite easily, as long as you've got your mise en place done before you start cooking, and works like a charm, rising up to golden puffy perfection even when I get lazy and scoop out the dough with a disher instead of piping it out all proper-like. They're about as foolproof as choux could possibly get.
And while I decided to stick to the classic by using grated Gruyere and a blend of fresh thyme and basil, there are a million different variations that can be achieved simply by changing up the cheese and/or herbs. Think Spanish-style with manchego and smoked paprika, or British with sharp cheddar and chives and spicy mustard, or Italian with Asiago and lots of basil.
The only catch is that gougères, like most choux pastries, are best eaten as soon as they emerge from the oven, with crackling crisp outsides and airy moist interiors. As the day goes on, they start to lose their crispness, which isn't quite the end of the world... but is still miles away from their earlier glory. You can throw them into a hot oven for a few minutes to re-crisp, but they'll never be quite the same.
Thankfully, the dough takes well to refrigerating (or even freezing, if you're planning that far ahead), so you can whip out a batch a-la-minute to impress the pants off your guests.
(Or, y'know, bake up a batch to eat all by yourself. I'm certainly in no position to judge.)
So, you ask, what am I supposed to do with these lovely little morsels, other than cramming them into my mouth as fast as I can? The French like to pop them open and slip a sliver of ham into the pocket to make mini-sandwiches, and they're quite lovely alongside a soup or stew in lieu of the usual bread. They're also a great option for parties, if you're putting together a spread of different little nibblies.
Or, seeing as Bastille Day is around the corner on July 14th, you can bake up a batch to celebrate la Fête Nationale... just pop open a bottle of your favourite French wine, put together a playlist of your favourite French music, set out an assortment of fine French cheeses, and dive in with appropriately gallic gusto.
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Gougeres (French Cheese Puffs)
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 30 1x
Description
These golden-brown puffs of choux pastry are flavoured with Parmesan cheese and a blend of fresh herbs. Try to eat these the same day they're made - while they're still pretty good the next day, they're really at their best when they're still warm from the oven.
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- 3 tbsp butter, cut into cubes
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup grated Gruyère (or any other hard cheese), divided
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely minced
- 1 tsp fresh basil, finely minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized saucepan set oven medium-high heat, combine the water, butter, salt and pepper, and heat up until the butter is completely melted.
- Immediately add the flour, all at once, and stir vigorously until the dough pulls together into a smooth ball. Remove from heat and let rest two minutes to allow the dough to cool off slightly.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. (Don't panic if the batter looks like it's not coming together at first - just keep stirring, and after a minute or so it'll smooth right out.)
- Add ⅔ cup of the grated cheese to the dough, along with the fresh herbs, and stir well until evenly combined. Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip, and pipe small cherry-tomato-sized mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them an inch or so apart. (Alternatively, you can use a 1 tbsp scoop or even a regular spoon to drop dollops of dough onto the cookie sheet - this is my preferred method, because I'm lazy like that.) Sprinkle the top of each puff with a pinch of the remaining cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until the gougeres are golden-brown all over. Serve immediately, if at all possible.
Notes
To make ahead, pipe the choux dough onto the prepared baking sheets. You can either refrigerate the dough if baking later on in the day, or for longer term storage, place in the freezer and then transfer the frozen gougeres to freezer bags (they'll keep up to 2-3 months this way). If you've frozen your gougeres, add an extra 5 minutes or so to the baking time.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Category: Appetiser
- Cuisine: French
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This post is part of the Bastille Day Holiday Food Blog Party. For more fabulous Cinco de Mayo goodies, check out the rest of the posts:
- Apple Tarte Tatin from Hungry Couple
- Chaussons aux Pêches from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Dark Chocolate Lavender Sables from gotta get baked
- Chocolate Cherry Brioche from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Gougères (Herbed Cheese Puffs) from Crumb
- Mendiant from Cravings of a Lunatic
- Lemon Raspberry Madeleines from Kelly Bakes
- Chocolate Orange Torte from What Smells So Good?
- Cherry Clafoutis from Pineapple and Coconut
- Meyer Lemon Fingerling Potato Salad from Magnolia Days
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I LOVE gougeres! I have a go-to recipe from Dorie Greenspan! :P LOVED meeting you this past weekend!
Sarah says
My 8 year old made these for us tonight, they were simple to make (with a bit of supervision) and they are delicious! Everything I had hoped they would be!
★★★★★
Isabelle Boucher says
That's one talented 8-year-old you've got, Sarah. Hats off! So glad you and your family enjoyed them. :)
Ashley @ QLCC says
These look amazing and so very tasty! I love that they're for Bastille Day, too :)
Kelly @ Kelly Bakes says
I want you to know that it's been a year since I've had a gougere... and that's only because I loved them so much that I ended up eating so many at once I looked like a pre-hibernation squirrel packing in acorns. It wasn't my best look. Perhaps now that I'm older, I'll also be able to exhibit a bit more self control, though with this delicious recipe, I highly doubt it ;)
Mallory @ Because I Like Chocolate says
David Lebovitz has the best recipes for just about everything! I love the looks of these!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
YUM. could definitely eat a whole batch of these cheese puffs right now.. thanks for the awesome recipe and inspiring ideas. definitely a recipe i will be recreating.
Melissa from HungryFoodLove.com says
I looove loove absolutely loove cheese puffs like this one. Yay!
Kim Beaulieu says
Dude, these are just screaming "get in mah bellah". We're adding these to the must make list when I visit right??
Shanna @ pineapple and coconut says
I love these little French cheese poofs. My kids do too. I haven't made them in a while, I am thinking I need to make them soon. Love your photos!
★★★★★
Susan says
So you mean I'm not supposed to just eat these one by one standing in the kitchen as they come off the oven tray. Oh...
Marly says
I think I'm a little like a gougères...by the end of the day I lose that crispiness and my morning glory. I don't mind. It's not bad being like a gougères. Happy Bastille day!
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
All you have to say is CHEESE! These look amazing!
Rose | The Clean Dish says
Gruyère cheese?! I already love these little puffs!! Thanks for sharing this recipe - I know I'm going to love it!!
Ginny McMeans says
Wow! These are just perfect little cheese puffs!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
These look addicting!! I bet my husband would LOVE these!!
Dom says
oh my lord these are divine... so perfect. I would eat these with a garlic mayo!
Amanda @The Kitcheneer says
These pastry puffs look so good! They would make a perfect appetizer or a dish to bring to a party!
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
Gougeres are one of the classics that I have yet to try. Hope to remedy that very soon!
Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings says
Gruyere cheese is my favorite-- the cheese puffs look amazing!
Ellen Christian says
Oh my. These sound absolutely amazing!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I wish I had a bowl of these right now!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
DEFINITELY pinned these-sooo good!
★★★★★
Sarah says
I remember making these once! They're deceptively light... way too easy to eat 20 at a time!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
"Puff Daddy" <-- lol, you are so awesome, Isabelle. I love it! And I LOVE your gougeres! I can't get over how beautiful, perfect, puffy'n crisp they are. I tried making choux pastry a few months ago and my results were laughable. I definitely need to try your recipe. I'll take your advice to heart and immediately eat them all right out of the oven. If there's no one around, I'll just have to eat them all myself #yougottadowhatyougottado
Anita at Hungry Couple says
I'm pretty sure I could put most of these away in one sitting. And I'd like to! :)
Liz says
I was going to make some gougeres for a dinner party on Saturday...and now I will add some herbs! These sound amazing!!! Welcome home :)
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says
I love gougères too! *I* should have made something for this "Holiday Blog Party" I mean, being in France and all... ;) Welcome home - loved your pics!
★★★★★
Renee says
I'm afraid if I made these they would never make it out of the kitchen. I see them flying into my mouth like crazy.