Make Magic with Blue Cheese Gougères (Cheese Puffs)

Dec 5, 2010
Larry Ervin

Saint Agur Blue Cheese - by permission igourmet.com

Once the home cook has mastered the "magical" technique for making gougères, the door is wide open to other pastries based on pâte à choux like profiteroles

Gougères make light and delightful hors d’oeuvres to serve with cocktails, Champagne, kir, or a good white wine.

Be a Magician

For the timid, gougères may look like magic. Maybe calling them “cheese puffs” would be less intimidating. The ingredients are readily available. The technique requires concentration, but it is hardly rocket science. Bottom line: serving these gougères can make you look like a magician.

Make Ahead?

These gougères can be prepared ahead, up to the baking stage, and frozen. They can be baked straight from the freezer making them ideal for the impromptu party.

About Blue Cheese and Possible Substitutes

Not everyone loves blue cheese. It may be argued that the tangy cheese is an acquired taste. Subscribers to that theory may want to “help” their guests acquire that taste with these gougères, where the tang is more subtle and blue streaks hardly evident.

Alternatively, the blue cheese in this recipe may be substituted with Gruyère (which will result in the more traditional gougère), Emmenthal, Comte or even an extra sharp Cheddar.

Among the French blue cheese, St. Agur is one of the author’s favorites, but there are certainly others that can be used. Roquefort is an obvious, if high-priced choice. Here’s a list of nearly a dozen other French blue cheeses and how they differ from one another. Seek out a good cheesemonger who will let you taste several varieties.

Blue Cheese Gougères Recipe

Yield: 40 to 50 hors d’oeuvres

You Will Need:

2 baking sheets lined with either…
Silicone baking sheets or parchment paper
Sturdy wooden spoon
Mixer fitted with a paddle (or a bowl and hand mixer or a strong stirring arm)

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
8 Tbsp butter (1 stick)
1 tsp salt
1 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
4 eggs at room temperature
1½ cups coarsely crumbled St. Agur (or your favorite) blue cheese
1 additional egg
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Method:

Adjust the oven racks so each has the same space above and below. Preheat the oven to 375° F. (190° C.).
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high flame, bring the milk, butter and salt to a rapid boil.
Add the flour all at once. Reduce the flame to medium-low and immediately start stirring the mixture energetically with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides and bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. Continue stirring vigorously for another minute to dry the dough. It should be very smooth.
Remove the pan from the heat and turn the dough into the bowl of your mixer. (Alternatively one can use the wooden spoon and “elbow grease” for the next step.)
Let the dough rest for a minute and then beat in the 4 eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated and the dough is thick and shiny before adding the next egg. Stir in the blue cheese.
Once the dough is mixed, it should be spooned onto the baking sheets immediately. This is not the time for a coffee break.
Drop the dough by teaspoons onto the lined baking sheets, spacing them 1½-2 inches apart. (The pastries can be frozen at this point. See text.)
In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg. Brush the top of each puff with the beaten egg and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes*. Rotate the sheets from front to back, top to bottom rack. Reduce the heat to 350° F. (180° C.) and bake until gougères are puffed and nicely browned, about 5 minutes*.
Serve immediately (or transfer to racks to cool and serve at room temperature).

* If baking gougères from the freezer, add a minute or two to the cooking times.

Go here for more cocktail party appetizer and hors d’oeuvre recipes, including: