Bacon Parmesan Gougeres
Savory French choux puffs enriched with bacon and Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
| 4 strips/slices | Thick-sliced bacon or Canadian bacon | |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | Whole milk |
| 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) | Unsalted butter | |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | Salt |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | Onion powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 2.5 ml | Sugar |
| 1/8 teaspoon | 0.6 ml | Cayenne |
| 1-1/4 cups | 240–60 ml | Bread flour, sifted |
| 3 | Large eggs | |
| 1-1/4 cups | 240–60 ml | Freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp but not too dark. If you use Canadian bacon, just dice into small pieces. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, and reserve 1/4 cup of the rendered fat. When the bacon is cool, chop to make 1/2 cup.
- Bring the milk, 1/2 cup water, the butter, and the reserved bacon fat to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the salt, onion powder, sugar, and cayenne. Add the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir very quickly in one direction. The flour will quickly absorb the liquid and form a dough. Continue stirring to cook the flour and simmer off more of the moisture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, an additional minute or two.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated into the dough, which will change from shiny to sticky as the eggs are worked in. On low speed, stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan and the bacon (or Canadian bacon) until just combined.
- Using a small ice cream scoop (about 2 inches in diameter), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Top the gougères with an equal amount of the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
- Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.