Gougères (French Cheese Puff Appetizer)

Gougères (French cheese puff appetizer) make a wonderful party food for any special occasion. The recipe itself is way easier than you think and is sure to have a wow effect among your guests!

Being French, I basically grew up making choux pastry (or choux puffs). Whether we’re talking about chocolate profiteroles, éclairs, chouquettes or gougères, they all involve the technique of choux pastry (or “pâte à choux”). It may look a little intimidating at first, but it’s way easier than it looks. Gougères in particular is a great recipe for beginners. Believe me, you can do it too!

What are gougères?

Gougères are savory French choux puffs made out of choux pastry and filled with grated cheese (traditionally Gruyère or Emmental). Light and airy, they make a fantastic one-bite cheesy appetizer to nibble on.

The ingredients you need

• Milk + water. This is the base for any choux pastry. While I like the combination of milk and water, this gougères recipe also works with water only (I tried it myself multiple times and always had great success).
• Unsalted butter. It adds richness to the gougères, making them soft and tender.
• All-purpose flour. It gives structure to the dough. Remember to measure the flour correctly, ideally using the metric system over the imperial one for more precision.
• Eggs. They’re the binding ingredient of the recipe and also provide moisture, richness and participate to the structure of the choux puffs.
• Grated cheese. Read the note below to help you choose the right cheese to make gougères.
• Salt + black pepper. While salt is important in the recipe, make sure you do not use too much of it, as the cheese already brings a salty flavor.

How to master the art of gougères?

Ok, now that you have all of your ingredients ready, let’s start making gougères. Find below the key steps to keep in mind when making these savory cheese puffs (or head over to the recipe card for the detailed instructions):

• Start by making choux pastry base. Add water, milk, butter and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Put it back on the stove, reducing heat to low, and cook, until the dough forms a ball and detaches from the sides. Transfer to a cold bowl and allow the dough to cool slightly.
• Now add the eggs, one at a time, mixing with a wooden spatula until fully incorporated. Then add the grated cheese and herbs.
• Transfer to a piping bag or simply scoop out heaping Tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, spacing them from each others.
• Bake, keeping the oven door close. Gougères are ready when they puffed and have a nice golden color on the surface.

Troubleshooting

Again, there is very little chance you will fail gougères. However, you may have questions that will raise while you’re making the recipe, making you doubt of your success. Not only this is totally normal, but this is also a good sign you’re right on track!

• How do I know if I removed the saucepan from the heat too soon? After you incorporated the flour, you need to put the saucepan back to the heat, reducing to low, and keep stirring until the dough forms a ball and detaches from the sides. I’m not gonna lie, I sometimes was in a hurry and did remove the pan after not even a minute, and it was still fine. Trust your instinct here: if the dough forms a soft ball, you’re usually good to go. However, there’s no harm in keeping it a little longer on the stovetop to ensure the dough dries out.
• My eggs do not mix in the dough, what should I do? Again, this is totally normal and part of the process. Keep mixing, whether you’re using a stand mixer or a wooden spatula, until the eggs are fully incorporated. If you’re still unsatisfied of the result, add the grated cheese and the dough should come together nicely.
• Help, my gougères didn’t rise! Not too worry here. Unlike most choux pastry recipes, gougères are a very forgiving version, that still tastes absolutely amazing even if they collapsed slightly (or completely) while baking. Usually, when gougères do not rise, it means that they have too much humidity. This is most often due to the type of cheese you use, and this is why I always recommend either Gruyère, Emmental, Cheddar or Comté. Also, grating it yourself is usually better than store-bought grated cheese that are larger in size, hence heavier, making the choux more likely to collapse.

Make-ahead and freezing instructions

Gougères taste best when they’re warm, usually right out from the oven. However, you can prepare the dough a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator overnight in a sealed piping bag.

Here’s another option: simply scoop or pipe the dough and flash-freeze them 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.

More party food ideas:

• Cranberry Pecan Cheese Balls
• Herb Parmesan Scones
• Sun-Dried Tomato Savory Muffins
• Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
• Loaded Hummus Dip

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