GOUGERES WITH PECANS →
Gougeres, French cheese puffs, are hard to beat when it comes to a tasty hors d’oeuvre to accompany cocktails or aperitifs. They are easy to prepare and very convenient if you have freezer space. I like to serve some and freeze some of the scooped dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet to bake and serve at a later time. I freeze them and then pop them into a zipper-style plastic bag and put them back in the freezer. This recipe is augmented with chopped pecans, which adds pleasing richness to the gougeres. Its source is “Everyday Dorie” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $35). Greenspan notes that her formula has a structural tweak. Instead of the usually 5 eggs used to make the dough, she uses 4 plus a white, a change that makes the puffs sturdier. In addition, she uses a small cookie scoop to form the puffs, a timesaving tip.
Yield: 55 to 65 small gougeres
INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup whole milk
1⁄2 cup water
4ounces (1stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature 1 large egg white, room temperature
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2cups coarsely grated cheese, such as Gruyere, Comte, or sharp cheddar
2⁄3 cup pecans, chopped
PROCEDURE
1. Position oven racks to divide oven into thirds and preheat it to 425degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. Bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a boil in medium
Gougeres, or French cheese puffs, are a tasty hors d’oeuvre anyway, but augmenting them with chopped pecans adds a pleasing richness. saucepan over high heat, stirring dough (leave some extra dough to melt butter. Add flour all at on top of the scooped dough, once, lower the heat to medium don’t level it off) and place and immediately start stirring scooped dough on parchment energetically with a heavy spoon lined baking sheets, leaving or whisk. The dough will form a 2-inch spaces between them. I ball and there’ll probably be a light often find that it makes as many film on the bottom of the pan. as 70 small gougeres.
Keep stirring another 2minutes or 5. Place baking sheets in preheated so to dry the dough: Dry dough will oven and immediately make puffy puffs. lower heat to 375 degrees. Bake
3. Transfer dough to bowl of stand 12 minutes. Rotate pans from mixer fitted with the paddle attachment front to back, top to bottom. (or work by hand in a Continue baking until gougeres large bowl with a wooden spoon are puffed, golden brown and firm and elbow grease). Let the dough enough to pick up, about 10 to 15 sit for a minute, then add eggs minutes. Keep an eye on them one by one, followed by the white, because sometimes they take as beat until each one is incorporated little as 8minutes of additional before adding the next. The dough baking in my oven. Serve immediately may look as through it is falling if possible, or at room apart — just keep going and by temperature. the time the white goes in, the dough will be beautiful. Beat in mustard, followed by the cheese and pecans. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.
4. Using a small cookie scoop (1
1⁄2-teaspoon size), scoop out