Gougeres (America's Test Kitchen)

By KDHarmon

For the best flavor and texture, use a Gruyere that has been aged for about one year. The doubled baking sheets prevent the undersides of each puff from over-browning. If you don’t own 2 rimmed baking sheets that nest together, a crinkled sheet of aluminum foil can be used to insulate the gougeres. Loosely roll up an 18 by 12-inch piece of aluminum foil. Then unroll and set crinkled foil in a rimmed baking sheet. Cover the foil with a sheet of parchment and proceed with recipe. In step 4, the gougeres can be piped onto the prepared baking sheet with a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• pinch cayenne
• 1/2 cup (2-1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup

Details

Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment and nest it in second rimmed baking sheet. In 2 cup liquid measure, beat eggs, egg white, and salt until well combined. (You should have about ½ cup of eggs. Discard excess.) Set aside.

2. Heat water, butter, and cayenne in small saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and immediately stir in flour with wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly, using smearing motion, until mixture is very thick, forms ball, and pulls away from pot, about 30 seconds.

3. Immediately transfer mixture to food processor and process with feed tube open for 5 seconds to cool slightly. With machine running, gradually add eggs in steady stream. When all eggs have been added, scrape down sides of bowl and add Gruyere. Process until paste is very glossy and flecked with coarse cornmeal-sized pieces of cheese, 30 to 40 seconds. (If not using immediately, transfer paste to bowl, press sheet of greased parchment directly on surface, and store at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)

4. Scoop 1 level tablespoon of dough and with second small spoon scrape dough onto prepared baking sheet into 1 ½ inch wide, 1 inch tall mound. Repeat, spacing mounds 1 to 1 ¼ inches apart. (You should have 24 mounds.) Use back of spoon, lightly coated with vegetable oil spray, to smooth away any creases and large peaks on each mound.

5. Bake until gougeres are puffed and upper two-thirds of each puff is light golden brown (bottom third will still be pale), 14 to 20 minutes. Turn oven off and continue to bake until gougeres are uniformly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. (Do not open oven to check color until at least 8 minutes have passed.) Transfer to wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Serve warm. (Cooled gougeres can stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. To serve, crisp them in a 300-degree oven for about 7 minutes.)

Makes 24.