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    Home » Recipes » Baking Recipes

    French Cheese Puffs (Gougeres)

    Published: Apr 24, 2012 · Modified: Mar 18, 2022 by Sally Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments

    2391 shares
    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    Gougères, the irresistible French cheese puffs, are as delightful to eat as they are to make. Made with a dough called pâte à choux (or choux pastry) used for cream puffs and profiteroles, cheese puffs are easily prepared with either regular all-purpose flour or a gluten-free flour blend. Perfect for cocktail hour, these light, savory puffs pair beautifully with a glass of wine. While Gruyère is the traditional choice, I like to use Parmesan cheese and finely chopped chives for a flavorful twist. Whichever way you make them, gougères are always a crowd-pleaser!

    A plate of golden gougere, the famous French cheese puffs on small plates with glasses of red wine.

    Do you remember the first time you bravely attempted a new technique or a new recipe? I still remember making gougere (goo-zhare) for the first time. It was strange how the pastry dough came together, but it worked beautifully in the end. A triumph. And I still love them. The dough has a reputation for being finicky, but don't let that deter you. It's really not hard!

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Like This Recipe
    • Recipe Ingredients
    • Substitutions and Variations
    • How to Make Gougeres
    • Notes For Gluten-Free Bakers
    • Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend
    • Serving Suggestions
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Why You'll Like This Recipe

    • French cheese puffs are fun to make.
    • This recipe is for a savory dough, but they can be made sweet too.
    • They freeze!
    • Gluten or not, both are delicious.

    Recipe Ingredients

    • Butter: Use unsalted butter so you control the salt level of the finished gougere. I buy high butterfat, European-style butter.
    • Milk: Whole milk is preferred but you can use low fat.
    • Flour: I've made them both with wheat flour and with gluten-free flour blend.
    • Eggs: Standard large eggs are what you want.
    • Cheese: Instead of gruyere cheese, I use finely grated Parmesan cheese for Parmesan puffs.
    • Herbs: Tiny chopped gren chives add soft oniony flavor and a little color. YOu can skip them but they are a nice addition.

    For measurements and quantities, please see the recipe card.

    Substitutions and Variations

    • Use different herbs such as Italian parsley or fresh chopped thyme.
    • Change cheese, gruyere is the French class and cheddar works well too for cheddar cheese puffs.
    • Skip the milk and use water, it still works.

    Chef's testing notes: I tested three types of flour: organic white whole wheat flour, organic whole wheat pastry flour, and a gluten-free blend called Cup4Cup flour. All three came out great. Pastry flour is a soft wheat which contains less gluten and provides a more tender baked good. Additionally, I've included a homemade GF blend in the recipe notes.

    How to Make Gougeres

    The formal name for this pastry dough is choux (shoo) pastry or pate a choux (pot-ah-shoo). Bring milk and butter to a boil, dump in flour, and stir like mad until the dough pulls away from the side of the pan. Add eggs, one at a time and again, stir like mad until they are well incorporated and the dough smooths out. It's like magic.

    The process of making pate a choux dough, stovetop.

    The pastry will look odd while you stir. At first it looks curdled and slippery from the eggs and you wonder if it will come together. Suddenly it does, and forms a smooth pastry dough.

    Pate a choux dough in a stainless steel pan, almost finished, being stirred with a wooden spoon.

    Add cheese and chives, then stir some more.  You’ll have a thick, savory dough to portion out and bake.

    Finished pate a choux dough in a stainless steel pan with cheese and chives.

    I’ve piped them and dropped dollops with spoons in the past. Now I use what’s called a disher.

    Chef's tool tip: Call them dishers (the professional term) or cookie scoops, this is a terrific little tool I can’t live without in my kitchen. I have 5-6 sizes of them in various sizes for various tasks. They make portion control and handling ingredients easy. For small puffs I use a #40 disher that is 1 ½” across. For truly bite-sized puffs, use the #60 disher.

    Using a disher tool or cookie scoop to portion dough on to a parchment lined baking sheet for baking.

    Notes For Gluten-Free Bakers

    For gluten-free gougere I tested with a pre-made blend, Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. The dough looks little different as it forms but the process is the same. The gougere came out great. After three test batches, here are the changes from my standard recipe:

    • Substitute ½ cup (72 grams) of the C4C for the wheat flour and turn oven down to 350 degrees. Bake until just golden. Time will depend on your ovens as they can vary.

    Note that Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur's make great gluten-free flour blends, available everywhere. The gluten-free batch did not puff as much as did the wheat gougere, but they tasted terrific and will be appreciated by anyone following a gluten-free diet.

    My last and best batch took about 20-25 minutes in the oven. They were golden on the outside and done but a tiny bit moist on the inside.

    Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend

    My homemade flour blend mixes brown rice, sweet rice, and quinoa flours plus cornstarch and tapioca. Find the quantities in the recipe card notes. For accuracy, you will need a digital scale to blend your flours. When measuring use the tare feature, it's faster. Whisk together until well blended.

    I use all Bobs Red Mill flours. This makes enough for several batches of gougeres. Save the flour blend in an airtight container, labeled and date, for future batches.

    Serving Suggestions

    Gougeres make the perfect snack to go with a glass of wine and are a super nibble for appetizer hour. Make them bite-sized or make them a bit larger. I've sliced them in half and filled them for catered parties with a savory cheese filling. Store them well wrapped on the counter for a few days.

    For freezing: After baking, freeze them on a sheet tray and when frozen, place gougere in a freezer safe zip bag, label and date.

    For another terrific cocktail nibble, try these sweet and spicy roasted maple cashews.

    📖 Recipe

    gougere | afoodcentriclife.com

    French Cheese Puffs (Gougeres)

    Sally Cameron
    These smell so good when they are baking you will have a hard time not devouring them as soon as they come out of the oven. Small ones are great alongside a glass of wine. Find the tool called a disher on Amazon, or use a tablespoon. See flour notes below.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 25 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer
    Cuisine French
    Servings 6 2 per person
    Calories 174 kcal

    Equipment

    • Baking sheet
    • Baking parchment
    • #40 disher (looks like an ice cream scooper with a spring handle) optional or piping bag

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 ounces unsalted butter
    • ½ cup milk
    • ½ cup gluten-free flour blend or white whole wheat flour
    • 1 pinch sea salt
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese plus extra to top if desired
    • 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

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    Instructions
     

    • Ready all ingredients and tools before you start as this goes quickly. Pre-heat oven to 400° for wheat flour or 350° for gluten-free flours. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Place butter in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat. When butter is melted, add the milk, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. When the milk and butter get to a full boil, dump in the flour and salt all at once. Turn heat down to medium-low and stir like mad with a wooden spoon. Stir, beat and fold until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1-2 minutes. Move the dough to a medium bowl and cool 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    • Add eggs, one at a time to the bowl, stirring like mad after each one until completely incorporated. It will look like a slimy mess for the first minute but keep stirring. The dough will come together. Lastly stir in the cheese and chives.
    • With a #40 disher, piping bag with plain tip or tablespoon, drop portions of pastry onto parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle a little extra Parmesan on top if desired. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check the puffs early and watch them as ovens and timing vary. Allow puffs to stand for a few minutes after baking. Serve immediately or cool completely and place in an airtight container. Puffs can be made a day ahead and served at room temperature or warmed in the oven for a few minutes.

    Notes

    Flour Options:

    I've made gougeres with white whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, gluten-free flour blend or homemade gluten-free blend (see note at end). I prefer organic flours for baking.

    Homemade GF Flour Blend

    If you want to blend your own GF flour, here is my recipe for using with gougeres. With a digital scale, weigh out 40 grams brown rice flour, 35 grams sweet rice flour, 25 grams quinoa flour, 20 grams cornstarch and 24 grams tapioca flour.
    Whisk together until well blended. You can do it all in one bowl using the tare feature. I used all Bobs Red Mill flours. This makes enough for several batches of gougeres. 
    Use 72 grams for whole wheat pastry flour or gluten-free flour blend.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2Calories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 7gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 190mgPotassium: 66mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 455IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 156mgIron: 1mg
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    Comments

    1. F morin says

      December 18, 2019 at 12:12 pm

      Perfect! Just made them!
      I’ll freeze them
      We’ll make them again,

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        January 06, 2020 at 2:53 pm

        Love to hear that! They are yummy, and I think fun to make. Thanks for commenting.

        Reply
    2. Marci says

      October 13, 2015 at 5:30 am

      I have large eggs. Any idea how many I would use?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        October 13, 2015 at 10:01 am

        Hi Marci, 2 eggs. Hope you enjoy them!

        Reply
    3. Tera says

      July 13, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      Am I able to use all purpose flour?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        July 15, 2015 at 6:06 pm

        Hi Tera. I did not develop the recipe or test it with white all purpose flour. It should work I would think. Honestly, please try the white whole wheat flour. King Arthur is available in most stores or use Trader Joes White Whole Wheat. It's better for you than refined white flour. Time to start getting away from refined white flours and products in general. They offer no nutritional value.

        Reply
    4. Ashley says

      April 20, 2013 at 12:06 pm

      I made the gluten free version of these today. My husband and I couldn't stop eating them! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Sally says

        April 20, 2013 at 12:41 pm

        Thanks Ashley! I just overhauled my moms 1956 banana bread recipe to be GF. Stay tuned! It will be out in a few days!

        Reply
    5. Virginia Kahler-Anderson, aka HomeRearedChef says

      June 24, 2012 at 5:45 pm

      OMGosh! These things are phenomenal!! I have made these before, but actually haven't in many years. And I just LOVE that you have given us a recipe for making them gluten free. I am saving this recipe of yours. Thank you very much. 🙂

      It is really awesome that Genie Grato Featured your post, or I would not have found this recipe for gluten free.

      ~Virginia

      Reply
    6. susan says

      May 23, 2012 at 9:30 am

      I am so all over these! These are gorgeous and I cannot wait to make these!!!

      Reply
    7. Linda P says

      April 30, 2012 at 9:54 pm

      I love the step by step pictures. Makes the recipe comprehensible. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    8. M G says

      April 30, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      I am SO MAKING these!!! Thanks for the tip. 🙂

      It seems there's a lot of versatility to this recipe. I can add some diced chiles and pepper jack cheese too. 😉 Cali touch! 😉

      Also, rosemary, parsley..etc.

      Yummy!!!!!

      Reply
      • Sally says

        April 30, 2012 at 9:55 pm

        The herbs sounds great, as do the pepperjack cheese instead of Parmesan, but be very careful with diced green chiles. You don't want to add moisture to the dough. If you use fresh chiles sparingly, roasted, peeled an chopped, it might work. These are not biscuits. They are much lighter, and extra moisture could weigh them down or cause them to still be doughy on the inside. Please comment back and let us know what you do and how it comes out. I'd suggest you start with just pepperjack, as Gruyere is traditional.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    Chef Sally Cameron of aFoodcentricLife.com in her kitchen.

    Welcome! I'm Sally, a professionally trained chef, former personal chef and caterer, lover of fresh healthy food, and sharing it with others.

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