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Gouda-Dill Gougères with Smoked Salmon

A twist from traditional gruyere with chives, these are flavored with gouda and dill. They are perfect right out of the oven but serving them with smoked salmon and accoutrements elevates them to superstar status.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine French
Keyword gougeres, cheese puffs, appetizers
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 18
Author Jean | Lemons + Anchovies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup gouda or gruyere or comte, grated, loosely packed
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Accompaniments

  • Cold-Smoked Salmon
  • Crème fraîche French sour cream
  • Capers
  • Not pictured but you can also add sliced shallots and lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. For the choux pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and set aside. Pour water into a medium saucepan, add butter and salt and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure the butter has melted before the mixture comes to a boil.
  3. Reduce your heat to medium and add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour stops clinging to the sides of the pan and starts to form a ball around the spatula. This will take 30-40 seconds. The goal is also to evaporate as much water as possible without scorching the pastry. Remove from heat and allow to cool for three minutes. You can transfer the pastry to a bowl or keep it in the pot and stir a few times to expedite the cooling.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time to the pastry. Stir the mixture until the egg has blended completely with the pastry before adding the next one.
  5. Fold the cheese and garlic into the pastry. There are three ways to form the balls. My favorite (and the easiest) is to use a small ice cream scoop. The second is to use two spoons to form the round balls. The third is to use a piping bag. You can make the balls anywhere between 1 1/4 inch - 2 inches in diameter. Drop the balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake them until they're golden. For the smaller puffs baking time will be 20-25 minutes. For these larger ones, 25-30 minutes at 400ºF in a convection oven. Without convection you can bake at 425ºF with the same baking time. Rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time and check for doneness 5-8 minutes before the low range of the baking time.
  6. Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar for about five minutes to finish the gougères. (See Note regarding baking time.)
  7. The gougères can be served out of the oven as-is or as smoked salmon sandwiches.

Recipe Notes

1. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your gougères. Test the puffs by splitting one open after the recommended baking time and if the inside still looks a little moist, put the tray back in the warm oven for another five minutes.
2. The baked gougères can be frozen and can be reheated at 400ºF for 5-7 minutes.