Ina Garten Cheese Puffs

Ina Garten’s cheese puffs are light, golden gougères made with Gruyere, Parmesan, and a rich milk-based choux dough at about 55 calories each. At 40 puffs per batch they take just 40 minutes from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook, and most of that is hands-on prep.

Most gougère recipes have you add eggs by hand one at a time, but Ina uses a food processor instead. She dumps the hot dough right into the bowl, pulses in the eggs and cheese, and the whole thing comes together in seconds.

Pay close attention to adding the flour all at once, since that separates crisp puffs from a lumpy, uneven dough. After it comes together, cook the paste on low for 2 full minutes so the flour dries out enough to absorb the eggs.

Source: Barefoot in Paris cookbook (2004, Clarkson Potter), also featured on Barefoot Contessa (Housewarming Party episode), verified from foodnetwork.com

Ina Garten Cheese Puffs

Recipe by medshi8Course: Snacks, SidesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

40

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

55

kcal

Total time

40

minutes

Hot milk and butter form a paste with flour on the stovetop, then eggs and two cheeses turn it into a thick dough. Once piped into small mounds, they bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until crisp outside and soft inside.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Pinch of nutmeg

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 4 extra-large eggs

• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, plus extra for sprinkling

• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

• For topping:

• 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash

• Extra grated Gruyere, for sprinkling

Directions

• Preheat and prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, then line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Heat the milk mixture: Combine the milk, butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook until the liquid is scalded.
• Add the flour: Add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together into a ball.
• Cook the paste: Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly for 2 minutes, since the flour needs to dry out and will start coating the pan.
• Transfer to the food processor: Dump the hot paste into a food processor fitted with the steel blade, then add the eggs, Gruyere, and Parmesan immediately.
• Pulse the dough: Pulse until the eggs are fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and thick.
• Pipe the puffs: Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, then pipe 1 1/4 inch wide mounds onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Top the puffs: Press down the swirl on each puff with a wet finger, then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of Gruyere.
• Bake: Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown outside but still soft inside.

FAQs

Can I make the choux dough ahead of time?

The dough holds well in the fridge for up to 24 hours in a sealed container. Bring it back to room temperature for about 30 minutes before piping, since cold dough is too stiff to push through the tip cleanly.

You can also pipe the mounds onto parchment-lined sheets and refrigerate them uncovered for a few hours before baking. The egg wash and Gruyere topping go on right before they hit the oven, because the wash dries out and the cheese hardens if applied too early.

What if I don’t have a pastry bag?

The recipe itself offers an alternative: use two spoons to scoop the dough and shape each mound with damp fingers. They won’t look as uniform as piped ones, but they puff up the same way since the shape doesn’t affect the rise.

A zip-top bag with one corner snipped off works as a quick substitute for a proper pastry bag. Cut about a half-inch opening, because anything smaller makes the dough hard to push through and anything larger loses control of the mound size.

Can I use a different cheese instead of Gruyere?

Swiss cheese is the closest swap, but it melts differently and has a milder flavor than Gruyere, which means you lose some of that nutty sharpness. Comte is a better match if you can find it, since it comes from the same family of Alpine cheeses.

Keep the Parmesan in the recipe regardless of what you swap for the Gruyere, because it adds a salty, savory bite that balances the richness. Avoid soft cheeses like brie or fresh mozzarella here, since they release too much moisture and the puffs collapse instead of holding their shape.

What can I serve alongside these cheese puffs?

These work best as a starter before a rich main course, so plan the rest of the menu around them. Ina Garten’s shrimp bisque makes a natural pairing, since the warm, creamy soup echoes the French origin of the puffs.

For a cocktail hour, set them out alongside Ina’s seafood gratin and a batch of her salted caramel brownies for dessert. The puffs are best served warm within 10 minutes of baking, because the outside stays crisp and the inside stays soft only while they are fresh from the oven.

Can I freeze unbaked cheese puffs?

Pipe the mounds onto a parchment-lined sheet and freeze them uncovered until solid, which takes about 2 hours. Transfer the frozen puffs to a zip-top bag, where they keep for up to 2 months without losing quality.

Bake them straight from frozen at 425 degrees, but add 3 to 5 extra minutes to the baking time since the centers take longer to set. Apply the egg wash and Gruyere topping before freezing, because doing it on frozen dough doesn’t work and the wash slides right off.