Monday, October 12, 2009

Love is a warm cheese puff

I discovered something this weekend. Gougères. Look at them, so unassuming. Little golden puffs...Shiny from the egg wash, with pieces of Parmesan cheese baked on top, adding a little salty, nutty flavor. Goat cheese and chives beat into the dough, baked until golden. I had been afraid to try these, now I'm upset that I didn't make them sooner.They're good fresh out of the oven, but I liked them best at room temp. Bite size, they're easy to pop in your mouth while chatting with friends, and it's easy to lose track of how many you've had!

Goat Cheese and Chive Gougères
adapted from Eggs on Sunday
makes about 4 1/2 dozen bite size puffs

1 cup milk
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, moving the racks so that your oven is divided into thirds. I followed Julia Child's directions for baking the majority of these guys because my two test puffs didn't fare well.

Bring milk, butter and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, remove from heat and dump all the flour in at once. Whisk it together, then put the pan back on the heat to dry the dough out a little. Whack the whisk against the side of the pan to get it all out of the wires... (you know what I'm talking about. My least favorite thing about whisks, btw)... and switch over to a wooden spoon. Remove it from the heat and add four of the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is completely stirred in before adding the next one. Once all the eggs are in, dump in the chives and goat cheese and mix that all in too.

Now, you have some options. Put the dough in a pastry bag and pipe it onto a cookie sheet lined in parchment paper OR just spoon it onto the cookie sheet in neat little spoonfuls. Beat up your last egg, brush the top of each puff, then sprinkle shredded Parmesan on top. Put your beauties into the oven and bake them for 20-30 minutes (each of my trays took a different amount of time, so use your nose and eyes) or until they're golden brown and crisp and yummy all over. Once they come out of the oven, poke them in the side with a sharp knife and put them in the now turned off oven for 10 minutes, with the door open. I know, sounds crazy, but it lets the steam out and keeps the puffs from getting soggy, very important!

I've already planned my next batch... bleu cheese and lots of pepper. And then, sweet puffs instead of savory, maybe with some kind of pumpkiny filling. Excuse me while I gain 200 lbs from the puffy goodness.

3 comments:

  1. Hey, that looks pretty easy, I can do that! And... your dog eats carrots?

    ReplyDelete
  2. These look wonderful!If you won't mind, I'd really love to guide foodista readers to your site. Just add your choice of Foodista widget at the end of this blog post and you're all set. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. YUM! My Mom always makes these when I visit her and she's always trying new recipes. She freezes them and just warms them up in the oven when we arrive. Send me your address so I can send you a calendar! Love your blog and stop by the shop when you are in town! :):)

    ReplyDelete