Cheddar Black Pepper Gougères
Makes approximately 45-60 1 ½ inch gougères
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼-½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Place saucepan back on medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring well. This will cook the flour and remove the starchy taste. Place dough in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk eggs, mustard, and pepper until well combined.
- Using the paddle attachment, on medium speed, slowly add the egg mixture into the dough. Blend well.
- Remove bowl from mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the cheese until well combined.
- Line 2-3 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Place some dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain tip. Pipe mounds, approximately 1 inch in diameter, spacing about 2 inches apart.
- Refill pastry bag and continue piping until all the dough has been used. This may have to be done in stages.
- Bake gougères for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. After 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, or until gougères are nice and brown. Keep an eye on them the last several of minutes—they may not need the full time depending on how hot your oven gets (they may need only 10 minutes).
- Serve hot or at room temperature.