‘It’s like a Cheez-It on steroids’
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It’s Super Bowl time and if you like to put out a few homemade snacks for party guests you may want to try these savory puff pastries. I made them twice and got great reviews both times. To quote editor Roger DuPuis of the Times Leader Taste Testers: “I love these, oh my God.”
And before anyone jumps ahead and sees the recipe calls for a pastry bag, fear not. I didn’t use one.
Called gougères, you can modify them with a different cheese (or other ingredients), add salt or not, and bake them ahead of time because they freeze easily in a plastic bag and thaw super-quick.
I initially made them as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone who tried them like them, but I had several other recipes already lined up for the test kitchen and figured I’d make another batch to take into the newsroom, for a broader sampling of responses. Both times I made some with a few grains of coarse sea salt on top and some sans sel.
After his initial enthusiastic response, Roger said “I like them both ways, but I prefer them with the salt.”
Bill O’Boyle deemed that they were “like a Cheez-It on steroids,” referring to the commercial snack cracker, then surmised they would go well with pepperoni — a classic option for a Super Bowl party.
Regarding salt, I used coarse white Mediterranean sea salt the first time, but opted for pink Himalayan sea salt the second.
Page designer Ashley Bringmann said “I love these so much, I could eat the whole plate if you left it in front of me.” She then suggested it would be good to dip them into a Buffalo Wings type of sauce during the Super Bowl. Another great party idea.
Salt mattered for reporter Margaret Roarty. “I would’ve liked it better without salt, but I do like it.” After learning they had been first made for Turkey Day, she added “I can see how it would be a hit at Thanksgiving.”
Sports page designer Mitch Hall may have hit on one of the things I liked best about these, especially with a little coarse sea salt: The texture. “It has a nice flavor, and it had crunchy bits in it. I prefer a crunchier biscuit over a softer one.”
MT really liked them the first time, and gave a more thoughtful response the second. They have “a kind of bite — but I like it.”
About that pastry bag part. I’ve had them, I’ve used them, I’ve even done make-shift ones by cutting the corner off a storage bag. None of which is necessary for these. Just ladle them onto the parchment paper using two spoons (one for scooping, one for pushing off the first spoon. You can shape them a bit with the back of one spoon, but get considerably more control by using a clean finger to make them round and uniformly thick, like disks. Just keep a little bowl of water handy for repeated finger wetting.
Regular readers know that once I saw the “or Gruyere” cheese option, that’s what I used, but the cheddar would be a likely well-received alternative, and you can look online for even more variations, or just try what you think might work.
One caveat from my two attempts. The first ones puffed up a good bit more, and had a slightly firmer texture, though they were both on the soft side. The only thing I changed recipe-wise was to use whole milk the first time but not the second. We don’t keep whole milk in the house, and while I had stopped to buy a pint for the first batch, I opted for a web-suggested alternative and used skim with a little vegetable oil. Another web site suggested melted butter instead, a teaspoon or two per cup of milk is typically recommended.
Maybe the second batch didn’t puff as well because the temperature of the oven was off a bit, or I didn’t bake them as long, or a I made them a bit thinner, or I used too much water on the fingers in shaping them, or too much cheese. Or maybe it was the milk. I’m no food chemist, but I know the fat in milk is different from the fat in vegetable oil, and suspect that was the most likely reason they baked a little flatter.
Dobru chut!
Gougères (thepioneerwoman.com, Leah Perez)
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground mustard
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar (or Gruyere) cheese (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Heat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, heat ½ cup of water, butter, milk, and salt over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour, mustard, and cayenne, and stir with a wooden spoon. Once all of the flour is incorporated, place the pan back over medium heat. Stir continuously until the dough is smooth, forms a skin on the bottom of the pan, and is pulling away from the edges of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes.
Place the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the dough to cool for 5 to 7 minutes. Using the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the dough for 1 minute on medium speed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl each time. Beat very well, until the eggs are fully incorporated. Add the cheese and chives, beating until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch round piping tip (Wilton 1A). On one of the prepared baking sheets, hold the piping tip ½ inch above the parchment paper. Holding the tip still, apply even pressure until the batter forms a 1 ½-inch circle. Stop squeezing and move the tip in a quick circular motion as you lift away so that it does not end in a point. Repeat with remaining batter and remaining baking sheet. If necessary, use a wet finger to smooth any points on the gougères. Sprinkle with the sea salt, if you like.
Bake until puffed and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, moving the pan on the top rack to the bottom, and the pan on the bottom rack to the top after 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish