over the past couple of weeks, i have had an unprecedented amount of culinary blahs.
no throw-immediately-in-the-trash dishes but certainly some i’m-not-really-that-excited-for-leftovers dishes. this appetizer, which i made as part of the spread for my birthday party this weekend, almost ended up in this category. you see, gougères are supposed to be little fancy puff balls of cheese. unfortunately, attempt number one looked like so:
but, in the knick of time (about 2 hours before the party) i decided to raise my spirits (both emotional spirits and spirits in the form of cranberry liqueur) and try again. success.
these were a pretty big hit at the party, judging solely on the fact that they were one of the first things to be cleared off their platter. and there were plenty of platters.
so i’m happy i did not give up on you, tiny french pastry. you were worth washing lots of dishes for the second time around.
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 3-4 large eggs
- Preheat oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add water and wine and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Stir in flour, pepper, and salt.
- Remove from heat and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms into a ball, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add blue cheese and beat at a low speed to combine.
- Add 1 egg, beating until completely mixed. Scrape down the sides and add the next egg. Repeat with third egg and check batter. It should be thick enough to hold its shape if scooped up by a spoon but close to being liquidy. If it feels too thick, add additional egg.
- Using a spoon, scoop about 1-1½ inch rounds onto your baking sheets, leaving at least an inch between them.
- Sprinkle each gougère with a little more black pepper and sea salt and bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges have browned and the rounds have puffed.
- You can serve these warm, straight out of the oven, or at room temperature.
recipe adapted from the smitten kitchen cookbook
I’ve made a few batches of gougeres that look just like that first one … sigh. Glad the second batch worked better!
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