Cheese Puffs (Gougères)

How to prepare cheese puffs (gougères)

1. Put the water, butter, and salt in a pot over medium heat until the butter melts and it begins to boil.
2. Add all the flour at once and stir quickly until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Remove the pot from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
3. Add the mustard, then the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. It may seem like the dough won't come together and large lumps form after adding the eggs, but keep mixing vigorously and it will come together in about 1 minute. 😊
4. Add the finely grated cheese and mix well.
   * The dough should be fairly stiff; see how the formed puffs look in the pan. If the dough is too soft, they will flatten instead of rising. The same will happen if you add too much cheese or use a moist cheese. For this recipe, choose dry, hard cheeses (traditionally Gruyère cheese is used).
6. Put the dough in a pastry bag using the method shown here. Pipe small mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with a little pepper, coarse salt, and chili. Then sprinkle with some parmesan.
   * If you don't have a pastry bag, you can use a plastic bag with one corner cut off, or you can form the mounds with a teaspoon
   ** At this point, you can refrigerate them and bake when desired; these puffs are best warm, so it's good to bake them just before your guests arrive
7. Bake at 220°C for 30 minutes until golden, without opening the oven. Serve immediately while still warm.
   * One last tip: let the puffs bake until golden and don't open the oven during this time; if the puffs aren't dry enough, they will deflate when they cool.

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