Gougères are perfect dinner party fare; they’re elegant, delicious, and filling, all of which buys you a few extra minutes when you’re getting the main course ready. Gougères are fried as commonly as they’re baked, but baked gougères hold numerous advantages for the home cook: they’re less messy, they can be baked in advance (even a day ahead: let them cool to room temperature, store in an airtight container overnight, then reheat in a 200°F oven), and they can be served at room temperature. I like them best made with well-aged Gruyère, but any of the cheeses suggested below will work well.

　　

Ingredients

makes 30 to 40 gougères, enough for 8 to 12 servings

　　4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1 1/2 cups flour

　　3 eggs

　　1 cup freshly grated aged Gruyère, Emmental, Cantal, or Cheddar cheese

　　1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or other hard cheese

　　

Step 1

Lightly grease 2 baking sheets and preheat the oven to 425°F.

　　

Step 2

Combine 1 cup water, the butter, and the salt in a medium saucepan; turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts, just a minute or two longer. Add the flour all at once and cook, stirring constantly, until the dough holds together in a ball, 5 minutes or less. The dough will get stiffer as you stir it; keep at it until the dough is smooth. Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl or the work bowl of a stand mixer.

　　

Step 3

Add the eggs one at a time, beating hard after each addition (this is a little bit of work; use a stand mixer if you have one; a hand mixer will likely not be powerful enough). Stop beating when the mixture is glossy. Stir in the cheeses.

　　

Step 4

Drop teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheets and bake until puffed and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.