Valentine's Day Gruyère And Crab Gougerès Recipe
Prep Time:
50
minutes
Cook Time:
55
minutes
Servings:
40
Gougerès
Ingredients
  • For the gougères
  • 1 cup water
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 4 ounces grated Gruyère cheese, divided
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • For the crab filling
  • 8 ounces fresh crab meat, picked over to remove any shells
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons prepared mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup finely chopped pickled sweet red cherry peppers, stems and seed removed
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh fennel
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
  2. Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the flour and reduce the heat to medium.
  4. Cook and stir until the mixture forms a smooth dough and pulls away from the sides of the pan (about 2 minutes).
  5. Transfer the dough to a heat-proof bowl and cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to vigorously mix the dough while adding the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is incorporated into the dough before adding the next.
  7. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese, the black pepper, and smoked paprika to the dough and mix thoroughly.
  8. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  9. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip.
  10. Pipe the dough into smooth mounds in 4 rows of 5 on each baking sheet.
  11. Place a few shreds of the remaining cheese on top of each mound.
  12. Bake the first tray on the center rack for 15 minutes.
  13. Lower the oven temperature to 375 F and bake 10 minutes longer. Do not open the oven during this time.
  14. Remove the gougères from the oven and immediately pierce each one on the side with a toothpick to allow steam to escape.
  15. Repeat the process with the remaining pan.
  16. Cool the gougères completely.
  17. While the gougères are baking, combine the crab meat, sour cream, mayonnaise, cherry peppers, fennel, chives, lemon juice, and Tobasco in a medium bowl.
  18. Use a small serrated knife to slice the gougères almost all the way in half horizontally, leaving a part of the edge intact so the top stays on like a lid.
  19. Use a small scoop or spoon to add about 2 teaspoons of crab filling into each gougère and place the top back on.
  20. Serve the Gruyère and crab gougères immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.