Gougères

Directions

Pâte à choux:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. If using a piping bag, set it up so it’s ready to fill as soon as the dough is ready.
2. Place the skim milk, water, butter, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
3. Turn the heat down to low, add the flour all at once, and begin stirring with a flat wooden spoon. The dough will form a mass and start pulling away from the sides of the pan. Stir vigorously without stopping for two to three minutes. The dough will darken a bit in colour and slightly dry out, which is what you want, as otherwise it may be too runny to pipe.
4. Immediately transfer the dough into a stand mixer bowl. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at time, mixing well between each addition. The dough should look like thick cake batter. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

To pipe and finish the gougères:

1. Fold in the cheese, thyme, and pepper. Your pâte à choux is now ready to pipe.
2. Immediately fill the piping bag with the pâte à choux. Hold the piping bag vertically with the tip one centimeter above the tray and pipe five centimeter circles onto the parchment. Try to keep the bag steady so that the dough falls continuously into the centre of each circle. Alternatively, use a spoon to drop dollops of dough onto the baking sheet. The final shape of your gougères will be less consistent, but they will be just as delicious.
3. Use your finger to gently run egg yolk over the top of each circle, making sure to smooth down any bumps.
4. Sprinkle grated gruyère over the tops of the gougères (Photo D). Immediately bake for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door during baking or your gougères will deflate. After 30 minutes, open the oven door for 10 to 15 seconds to let any built-up steam escape. Close it again and continue to bake for another five to ten minutes, until you can feel that the outside of the dough has crisped up and it is a dark golden brown.

Excerpted from Duchess at Home by Giselle Courteau. Text copyright © 2019 Giselle Courteau. Design and Photography © 2019 Sarah Hervieux. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.