Gougères, cocktail fare is only the beginning

These golden little puffs, loaded with nutty Gruyere cheese, earthy, salty prosciutto ham and parsley are a perfect cocktail nibble.

They also make a splendid side to soups and salads. A large version of this puff can be filled with scrambled eggs, topped with more grated cheese, salt and pepper for a delicious breakfast sandwich.

Classic Gougères are made with grated cheese. For Gougères Splendid we’ve added prosciutto ham and parsley. These delicate little puffs are packed with flavor.

The dough can be made up to 2 hours before you are ready to serve, after 20 minutes in the oven, they will emerge warm, puffy and ready to serve.

This recipe starts with a batch of choux puff dough. It is an easy, eggy dough with which you can make many splendid creations. The dough takes about 20 minutes to make and the possibilities of pleasurable treats you can make with it are endless. This dough (with sugar added) is the basis for eclairs and profiteroles. Salt is added to the dough for these Gougères, and for the salad nicoise sandwich ring in an earlier post in Splendid Market.

For the recipe for Choux Puff Dough (pate a choux) click here, this will take you to recettes de marche de splendeur, where all of our recipe can be found. If the connection fails, click on “recettes de marche de splendeur” in the column to the right, where you can find printable versions of all of our recipes. The recipe for pate a choux is under the “pastry” label.
Ingredients
makes 2 dozen puffs
1 batch (2 cups) pate a choux
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
9 slices of prosciutto ham, chopped and separated ⅛ cup finely chopped parsley
For optional egg glaze: 1 egg beaten, 2 tablespoons water
For optional melted cheese garnish: two tablespoon grated Gruyere cheese


Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Place oven racks in center of oven
Mix ingredients together
While mixing, break apart the slices of prosciutto, they tend stick together when sliced
Line 2 cookie sheets with silpats (silicone sheets which prevent sticking, available in Splendid Items)
Scoop dough into a disposable pastry bag
Pipe two small circles of dough on top of each other, repeat until tray is filled.
Alternatively, you can use a teaspoon and deposit small scoops of dough onto the tray.
For a shiny finish, whip together the beaten egg and water, lightly brush dough blobs with egg water wash. Don’t allow any of the wash to get onto the silpats, it can prevent puffs from rising.


A few shreds of the Gruyere cheese placed on the uncooked blobs look nice when baked.
Place in 425 degree oven and allow to bake for 20 minutes.
From the oven will come delicious smells, and, within minutes – the perfect cocktail puff!