Gougères

 

Gougères are delightful French cheese puffs, perfect for elevating cocktails or as a portion of chic finger food at gatherings. A wonderful alternative to mundane bread rolls, they pair beautifully with soups and stews. They’re easy to make and reheat flawlessly—plus, you can impress your friends by casually mentioning their French origins!

Ideal Cheese for Gougères

Traditionally, gruyère is the go-to choice. However, I've had great success using Swiss and cheddar as well! I believe you can experiment with any melting cheese to achieve delightful results.

Ingredients

1 cup  water

5.5 tbsp butter, unsalted, cut into slabs

1 cup flour, plain / all-purpose

3/4 tsp salt, kosher/cooking salt

Pinch nutmeg (powder or freshly grated)

Pinch black pepper

4 eggs 

2 cups Gruyère cheese, freshly shredded (Note 1)

Topping

1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, extra, freshly shredded

1egg yolk, for brushing

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two trays and line them with parchment paper. 

In a saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt until boiling. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg off the heat. 

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in cheese before dropping tablespoon-sized mounds onto trays.  

Brush with yolk and sprinkle extra cheese on top; bake for 25 minutes! Enjoy warm as snacks or with soups!

Storage and reheating: Cool completely then store in an airtight container. They will soften, so to make them crusty again - reheat in a 350°F oven for 7-8 minutes until golden and crusty.

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft, and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, Gardening, and opinion or history pieces each week. 

French Fare, Potpourri of Frugality. Kilbride