Gougeres

By acampman

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt and more to taste
• 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 pound unsalted butter
• 1 cup grated hard aged cheese
• Sauce pan with a heavy bottom
• Wooden spoon with flat edge
• Electric stand mixer fitted with cookie paddle
• Pastry bag and star tip with 1/2” diameter, or two spoons
• Cookie sheet pan
• Silpat baking pad, or parchment paper

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pre-warm the mixing bowl and paddle attachment. Pre-warm the eggs while still in the shell by placing them in a bowl and running hot tap water over them. Exchange the hot tap water two times to warm the eggs through. While eggs are warming, measure out flour and sift.
Bring water, salt and butter to boil in sauce pan. Reduce heat to low.
Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with the wooden spoon for about one minute until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
Drain the eggs and wipe the warm mixing bowl dry. Immediately transfer the flour mixture to the warm bowl. Fit the paddle attachment onto the mixer and turn to medium speed.
Crack one egg at a time into an unbreakable dish and add to the batter. Incorporate completely.
Add the remaining eggs one at a time, incorporating each completely before adding the next.
When all the eggs are in, scrape the bottom of the bowl, re-mix, and then mix in the grated cheese. Taste batter and adjust the salt level. Don't worry about over-mixing the dough, but work quickly to keep the batter warm.
Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch diameter round or star tip.
On a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat mat, pipe dough into 24 quarter-sized gougeres, spaced evenly apart.
Bake at 400 degrees in a convection or regular oven for about 5 minutes, then turn temperature down to 375 and continue baking for about another 7 minutes, or until evenly golden.