Bacon Cheese Gougères Food

BACON GOUGERES

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup water, 1 sliced stick butter and 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper to a boil in a saucepan. Add 1 cup flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the mixture pulls away from the pan and looks shiny, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a stand mixer; beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, on medium speed until smooth. Stir in 6 finely chopped cooked thick-cut bacon slices, 3/4 cup grated smoked gouda and 2 tablespoons chopped chives. Transfer to a piping bag; snip off the end. Pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with more gouda.
• Bake at 400˚ F, until the gougeres are puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 20 minutes.

BACON-CHEESE GOUGèRES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. Toss together Gruyère and Cheddar in a small bowl, and set aside. Heat half-and-half, ½ cup water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Immediately add flour, salt, and nutmeg, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture forms a ball and bottom of pan has developed a thin film, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer dough to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high for 30 seconds to release steam and cool slightly. Decrease speed to medium. With mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium until batter is stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add bacon and 3 ounces of cheese mixture.
• Transfer dough mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a ½-inch pastry tip. Pipe 1½-inch mounds of dough (about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Tap tops of dough with a lightly moistened finger to flatten slightly. (Alternatively, use a 1¾-inch ice-cream scoop to scoop dough onto baking sheet.) Sprinkle dough with remaining cheese mixture (about ½ teaspoon each).
• Bake 1 pan in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F, and continue baking until golden brown, risen, and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool gougères on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425°F, and repeat baking procedure with remaining pan of dough. Serve gougères while still warm.

CHEDDAR CHEESE GOUGERES WITH BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup water, the butter and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and add the flour all at once. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon; the mixture will form a dough ball that will pull away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook for a couple minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes. Stir so that the dough cools more evenly; you want the dough to be warm, but not so hot that when you start adding the eggs they cook as they hit the dough. In a mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon, add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until the eggs are incorporated. The dough should become rather creamy. Stir in the grated cheese, bacon, thyme and a few grinds of pepper.
• Spoon out small balls (about a heaping tablespoon) of the dough onto the baking sheet, with at least an inch separating the spoonfuls. Cook for 10 minutes; lower the heat to 350 degrees F and cook until puffed up and lightly golden, another 15 to 20 minutes.

HICKORY-BACON AND ROASTED-CORN GOUGERES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then finely chop.
• Pour off fat from skillet, then wipe clean. Add corn and pan-roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until kernels are mostly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bring water to a boil with butter and salt in a heavy medium saucepan, stirring until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and cook over medium heat, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. (Batter will appear to separate at first but will then become smooth.) Mixture should be glossy and just stiff enough to hold soft peaks and fall softly from a spoon. If batter is too stiff, beat remaining egg in a small bowl and add to batter 1 teaspoon at a time, beating and then testing batter until it reaches proper consistency.
• Stir in bacon, corn, cheeses, chives, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly butter sheets. Fill a pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip with batter and pipe about 35 (3/4-inch-diameter) mounds, or spoon mounded teaspoons, 1/4 inch apart, onto each sheet. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until puffed, golden, and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes total. Transfer to a rack (still on parchment if using). Make more puffs on cooled baking sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature.