Gruyere and Rosemary Gougeres

Submitted by ratherbeswimmin

"In 'Winter Gatherings' by Rick Rodgers"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 3mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, divided
• 1⁄2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Bring the milk and butter to a simmer in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to be sure the butter is completely melted by the time the milk simmers.
4. Add the flour, all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick paste.
5. Decrease heat to low.
6. Stir constantly until the paste comes together into a ball and films the bottom of the saucepan, about 1 minute.
7. Adjust the heat as necessary so the paste cooks without burning.
8. The idea here is to force off excess moisture, in the form of steam, from the paste in order to make a crisper pastry; remove the saucepan from the heat.
9. Whisk 4 of the eggs in a bowl to combine them.
10. One-fourth at a time, stir the beaten eggs into the hot dough in the saucepan, and stir well until the dough comes together into a glossy mass.
11. Stir in the Gruyere, rosemary, mustard, salt, and pepper.
12. Transfer the warm dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip.
13. Pipe 25 walnut-size balls of dough, about 1 inch apart, onto the baking sheet.
14. Or drop the dough from a teaspoon onto the sheet.
15. Beat the remaining egg well with a pinch of salt.
16. Lightly brush some of the egg glaze on the mounds of dough, being sure that the egg does no drip down onto the sheet.
17. Bake until the balls are puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
18. If the gougeres have not baked long enough, they will deflate when taken from the oven, so bake for at least 20 minutes before checking them.
19. Remove the sheet from the oven.
20. Pierce each gougere with the tip of a small knife (this releases the steam from the interiors of the puffs and helps crisp them).
21. Return to the oven and continue baking until the gougeres are crisp, 5-8 minutes.
22. Let cool briefly on the baking sheet.