Gougeres With Comte Recipes

GOUGèRES (FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS)

Steps:

• Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium and, using a wooden spoon, immediately start stirring energetically. The dough will form into a ball and there will be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another two minutes or so to dry the dough: Dry dough will make puffier puffs.
• Turn the dough out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and elbow grease). Let the dough sit for a minute to cool, then add the eggs one by one, followed by the white, beating on medium speed until each one is incorporated before adding the next. The dough may look as though it's separating or falling apart -- just keep going, and by the time the egg white goes in, the dough will be smooth. Beat in the mustard, followed by the cheese. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.
• Scoop or spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough (I use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop), and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds. (The scooped dough can be frozen on the baking sheets.)
• Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 17 minutes. Serve immediately -- these are best directly from the oven. Storing: Although the puffs are best served hot out of the oven, they are still nice (although flatter) at room temperature that same day. If you want to keep baked puffs longer, freeze them and then reheat in a 350°F-oven for a few minutes.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer Instructions: Scoop the dough and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then pack them in an airtight container. You can bake them straight from the freezer; just give them a few more minutes in the oven.
• Note/Variation: Dorie adds ⅔ cup walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted and chopped, to these gougères. My family prefers them without nuts but it's a nice variation to try. Add them along with the cheese.

FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F (200°C fan). Lightly grease 2 trays then line with parchment / baking paper.
• Place water, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil until butter is full melted.
• Remove from stove, add flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix until incorporated.
• Return to stove on LOW heat and mix for 1 minute (this dries the mixture out, see video for before/after).
• Remove from stove, leave for 2 minutes.
• Add 1 egg, mix vigorously until incorporated - batter splits at first, but it always comes together!
• Add 3 more eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next. Good arm workout! (Or use electric beater)
• Stir in 2 cups cheese.
• Drop 1 tablespoon mounds onto trays (small cookie scoop is ideal, otherwise use a measuring tablespoon and a teaspoon to scrape out. Can make larger - good for dunking!)
• Brush with yolk, then top with a pinch of reserved Cheese for topping.
• Bake 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes so they become crusty and inside dries out a bit.
• Serve warm as pre dinner nibbles, finger food at gatherings, or dunk into soups and stews!

GOUGERES WITH COMTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup water, butter, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook until butter has melted, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. Return saucepan to low heat; briefly cook and stir until dough pulls away from the pan and starts to dry out, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 1 minute.
• Beat eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add 1 cup grated Comte cheese and season lightly with pepper.
• Use 2 teaspoons to place small mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between them.
• Stir together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl and brush onto the dough mounds. Sprinkle with the remaining Comte cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed up and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let gougeres cool in the oven with the door half-open.

GOUGERES (FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
• Combine water, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg (if using) in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil, over medium high heat.
• Once the water is boiling and the butter has melted, remove the saucepan from the stove and add all the flour at once. Stir vigorously until combined and resembling mashed potatoes. Bring the pan back to the stove, over medium-low heat, and cook until the dough dries out a bit and starts to create a film on the bottom of the pan, about 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the dough on medium low speed so it cools off a bit. Once it's just warm to the touch, start adding the eggs, one at a time. Wait for each egg to be completely incorporated before adding the next one. The final dough should be smooth and creamy.
• Add the cheese and mix until incorporated.
• Shape the Gougeres: Using a medium sized scoop, drop the dough from a spoon onto parchment-paper lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between them. For more uniform looking Gougeres, I like to wet my hands and shape the dough into little balls before placing them on the baking sheets. You can also go the Julia Child way and scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip and pipe the dough into mounds, about the size of a small cherry tomato.
• Brush the top of each Gougere with egg wash and sprinkle with extra grated cheese or some chopped fresh herbs.
• Bake the Gougeres for 5 minutes and then lower the heat to 350F degrees. Bake for another 20 minutes, rotating once during the baking time, or until puffed and deep golden brown.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from baking trays to cooling racks.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.