Other cheesy recipes that should be on your radar are cheese bread bites and grissini. Gougères are French cheese puffs. Gougères are made with a dough called pâte à choux (pronounced: pat-a-shoe), which is the same dough used to make profiteroles (aka cream puffs) and éclairs. Choux dough is made from only 4 ingredients: Gougères is a French word since these cheesy bites of heaven are made using French pastry. Once you can confidently say gougères, you’re sure to approach the recipe with confidence too!
The best way to break down the sounds in the word are: “goo-zsh-air”
To hear it said aloud, give “gougères pronunciation” a quick online search and you will find an audible resource, so you can practice and nail it!
You can also freeze uncooked gougères and then bake them straight from frozen. All you have to do is make them up to step 5 in the recipe card and then freeze them on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Once they are frozen you can take them off the baking sheet and store them in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to bake them, simply add a couple of minutes to the baking time. There are lots of ways to play with this recipe to get different variations, depending on the flavor you’re after. Here are some options to try:
Spices and herbs: You can try playing with the spice profile by substituting the cayenne pepper and fresh thyme leaves with ground black pepper and nutmeg, for instance. Cheese: You can play with the cheese you incorporate in this recipe by substituting the aged cheddar for shredded Gruyère cheese, Comté, or Parmigiano-Reggiano. If you’re looking for a super cheesy version, try a cheese blend and use more than one type of cheese. Sweet: if you’re looking for a sweet alternative to gougères, make the pastry dough and bake without the cheese, thyme, or spices. In this case, you’d be making profiteroles.
The wonderful thing about this gougères recipe is that these cheese clouds make the perfect appetizer or accompaniment to any special occasion meal. Send them out for a little amuse bouche before holiday meals, at a baby shower, garden party, or cocktail hour at your place. Gougères and champagne could be a whole meal, right?
Here are some ideas on how to serve these beauties:
With other passed appies like smoked salmon mousse, party shrimp, or bacon scallop lollipops. To soak up sauces or gravy in dishes such as coq au vin or these french onion pork chops. Or used for dipping in soups, like this tomato bacon soup or yummy garlic soup.
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