Cheese Gougeres ... open your favorite bottle of wine tonight !

Les Gougeres au Comte, or Cheese Gougeres, are probably one of the best Appetizer in the world ... so crispy, so warm, so cheesy ... everybody love them (I do recommend you to hide them from your kids ;-)

Believe me, Gougeres are one of the easiest thing to do ... and you can imagine plenty different tastes.

Even after the first batch, Cheese Gougeres will be a piece of cake and the perfect appetizer to go with a glass of wine.

In France, we use Comte Cheese for the Gougeres (here you can use Gruyere or you can also buy Comte at your favorite Cheese Market, or even at Trader Joe's).

If Comte is an essential ingredient for the original recipe, you can make many variations : use small dices of Ham, use Walnuts, use Herbs & Spices, use Blue Cheese, use Chorizo ...

Et voila, bon Appetit
Emilie, your French Chef
http://www.emiliefrenchchef.com/

La recette des Gougeres au Comte (Comte Cheese Gougeres)

Ingredients for 20 gougeres:

• ½ cup whole milk

• ½ cup water

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt + ½ teaspoon of ground pepper

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour

• 4 large eggs

• 1-1/4 cups grated Comte Cheese (or Gruyere or very good quality Swiss Cheese)

• Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium, and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball and the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook and stir for a full 2 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle and beat for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly. Add  the 4 eggs (one after the other) and continue to mix until completely combined and the batter has a smooth, silky texture.

 Stop the machine and mix in the Comte Cheese, using a spoon.

With a pastry bag or using 2 small spoons (of the same size), form the “balls”  (1 inch diameter) on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Leave about 2 inches between the gougères as the mixture will spread during baking.

Cook for 20 min without opening the oven door.  Shut down the oven when the gougere are brown . Then open the door and wait 5 mins before taking the gougeres out.

Let cool down on a rack and serve the Gougeres warm.

Above the texture of the dough after mixing in the 4 eggs, just before adding the cheese.