Pronounced: /Goo-Jere/

Gougeres.  Excuse me?  Gou-GEREs.  Bless you?

Are you a little perplexed by the fancy French term I’m wielding?  Don’t be.  These little French gems should be a part of your vocabulary, and more importantly, your culinary arsenal.  If you’ve made them before, then you know they sound all fancy-shmancy but really are anything but.  Cross my heart.

Given that today is Bastille Day, I had to make a little something for my wee ones as a nod to the holiday.  After all, my paternal lineage runs deep on the French side.  Ah my forlorn French maiden name: beautiful, simple, and underappreciated until I adopted a very complex and troublesome Dutch name.  Alas, the things we do for love.

In case you are not familiar with Bastille Day, this is the French national holiday that marks the beginning of the French Revolution (1790), meaning the end of absolute monarchy and the birth of a sovereign nation. I like to think of it as a compelling reason for a fabulous French meal, or at the very least, a glass of Burgundy after the kids have been tucked into bed for the night.  Reality check: it’s not really about me anymore is it?  However, if it was, I think I would prefer Champagne to Burgundy tonight.  My point is that all holidays, great, small, foreign, even made-up…are opportunities to encourage the palate.

I decided to make it easy.  For those that know me, I can do easy sometimes.  One of my tried and true hors d’oeuvres was a treat that my kids love.   They call them “Cheese Puffs”.  AKA Gougeres.  Okay, “Cheese Puffs” don’t quite exude as much panache as “Gougeres”.  Sometimes you have to adapt the lexicon of a dish to suit the kids.  If this is their version of cheese puffs in lieu of the neon orange, who-knows-what’s-in-there cheese puffs…works for me!  Did I mention I could probably make these in my sleep?

Gougeres are a savory French puff that is commonly thought of as a cocktail snack.  When I make these, both adults and kids (including little kids) alike devour them.  Warm, cheesy, punctuated with an appealing herb of your choice, and the perfect size for popping into your mouth, they do not last long.   They have a dry and hollow interior that you can fill with all sorts of delights.  I’ve tried crab salad and chicken salad.  I must say that it is much more work to slice and create “little gougere sandwiches”, which is not really necessary if time is of the essence.  These stand alone wonderfully.

Busy moms will appreciate that these can be prepared in advance and held in the refrigerator.  Plop into the oven 25 minutes before you expect your guests to arrive and you’ve strategically filled your home with the welcoming aromatics of fresh baked bread.  Dust a little flour on your face and apron and your guest will think you’ve been hard at work.  Don’t forget to pair with some bubbly for adults and sparkling apple juice for the kiddos to really make it special.

Gougeres with Gruyere and Dill

¾ cup water

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cute into ½-inch cubes

¾ cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, each cracked into a small cup

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese (about 2 ounces)

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put the water, salt, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.  Add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a sturdy wire whisk, still over the heat.  It will form a mass of dough that should pull away from the sides of the pan.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Pour one egg into the saucepan and immediately beat it into the dough using the whisk.  Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs, beating each one in thoroughly before adding another.  The mixture will be satiny and sticky and have the consistency between soft dough and thick batter.  Stir half of the cheese and dill.

Line two baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment.  Drop balls of dough, each 1 teaspoon in volume, leaving at least one inch between them.  You can also use a pastry bag with a large plain tip and pipe dough out into ½ inch mounds.  Place a pinch of the remaining cheese on top of each gougere.  Bake until puffed and golden brown, 18-23 minutes.  Serve while still warm.

Note:

Once the dough is formed on the baking sheet, you can refrigerate or freeze them.  If refrigerating, cover with plastic wrap and hold for up to 24 hours.  If freezing, place baking sheet in the freezer until they are frozen solid.  Then transfer to a freezer bag.  Bake frozen gougeres at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Other varieties to try aside from the above:

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar & 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 cup grated Gruyere & 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

3 tablespoons chopped caramelized shallots, 1 cup grated white Cheddar and 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary