Gougères
Original recipe by: Leslie Brenner
Light, airy and delightfully cheesy, gougères are one of France’s favorite hors d’oeuvres. Surprisingly easy to make, they’re cream puffs — pâte à choux (a.k.a. choux paste) — combined with grated cheese, then spooned or piped onto a baking sheet and baked.
Some recipes call for milk in the batter for nice browning; others use water, which makes a lighter, airier puff. I call for half milk and half water, for the best of all possible worlds.
If you want to be fancy, use a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch) to pipe the gougères, rather than using a spoon.
Makes 32 gougères.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (118 ml) water
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1/4 cup (58 grams) unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup (56 grams) grated Gruyère cheese
1/2 cup (38 grams) finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177 …