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Classic French Gourgeres - A Simple Cheese Puff Appetizer

The perfect Hors d'Oeuvres to start your evening - especially paired with a glass of Champagne
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Prep Time:15 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: French
Keyword: French Appetizers, French Cheese Puffs, French Gougeres, French Hors d'Oeuvres, Gougeres

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 8 Tbsp Butter, cut into 4 pieces
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 5 Large Eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ Cups (6 oz) Coarsely Grated "strong" tasting cheese, such as Gruyère or Extra-Sharp Cheddar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Grate your cheese. Set Aside.
  • In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a rapid boil.
  • All at once, add the Flour. Lower the medium-low and immediately, with a wooden spoon, start stirring in a vigorous fashion.
  • The dough will come together and a light layer will form on the bottom of the pan. Continue vigorously stirring for at least 2 more minutes, until the dough is very smooth, and the thin layer of dough on the bottom of the pan begins to brown.
  • Dump the dough into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or into a bowl that you can use a wooden spoon or hand mixer).
  • Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. At this point, add eggs, one at a time, beating EXTENSIVELY between each addition. The dough will become thick and shiny.
  • After last egg is incorporated, and the dough is thick and shiny, beat in the grated cheese.
  • Immediately, use a 1 Tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop dough onto parchment lined trays, taking care to leave about 2 inches in between each puff, so they have room to puff without bumping into their neighbors.
  • At this point, you can either pop the trays into the oven or into the **freezer** (see notes).
  • Once you place the trays into the oven, reduce the heat to 375℉ and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check puffs halfway through to see if you need to rotate trays for even baking.
  • Cook until golden brown. Remove from oven.
  • Serve fresh out of the oven (my favorite), or remove to cooling rack to cool. Enjoy.

Notes

The best part about these French Cheese Puffs is that you can make the dough, spoon out the individual Gougères onto a parchment-lined tray, and freeze them. Once frozen through, remove to a Ziplock freezer bag and store in the freezer. You can pull them out and bake as needed - only add a couple minutes to the total baking time to account for the frozen dough. By doing this, you will always have classy hors d' oeuvres ready to go!