Remember my post on Pâte a Choux earlier this year? Using the same basic recipe, I made a savory variation of it for Thanksgiving dinner. Though they didn’t turn out perfect (they were deflated after taken out of the oven), they were mighty tasty. I made some adjustment to the recipe and gave it another try the day after, these gourgères puffed up beautifully and I couldn’t be happier!

slightly deflated but yummy treats!

I used this recipe from Go Bold With Butter for reference, and made some adjustments. For example, I used 4 eggs instead of 5 (I went with Michael Ruhlman’s 1:1:1:1 ratio for pâte a choux, 1 stick of butter : 1 cup of flour : 1 cup of milk or water: 1 cup of eggs), didn’t use an egg wash, and adjusted the oven temperature.

crispy prosciutto needs to get in my belly!

Pumpkin Gruyere Gourgeres

Makes about 40

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
½ cup pumpkin puree (NOT the canned pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
1 cup Gruyere Cheese, plus more for garnish
4 slices prosciutto, cooked to cripsy and crumbled
1 tablespoon of dried sage or rosemary for garnish

I could tell the dough was a little bit too runny but oh well, the show must go on.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• In a medium sauce pan, bring the milk and butter to a simmer over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour and salt, and stir rapidly.  The flour will absorb the liquid quickly and a dough will form and pull away from the sides. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two.
• Transfer the paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or to a bowl if you’re using a hand mixer.  (If you want to mix the eggs directly into the dough in the pot, let it cool slightly, 4 or 5 minutes, you don’t want to cook the eggs too quickly.)
• Add the eggs one at a time mixing rapidly until each is combined into the paste.  The paste will go from shiny to furry, slippery to sticky as the egg is incorporated.
• Add the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and the cheese to the paste, mix to combine.
• Spoon or pipe the paste onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, 3/4″ high and 1.5″ apart. (An easy way to pipe is with a large ziploc freezer bag, simply put the mixutre in one corner and cut the corner to pipe.) Once piped, remember to press the peaks down with a moistened finger.
• Sprinkle on the crispy prosciutto crumble, the cheese, and the dried herbs.
• Bake the gourgeres at 425 for 10 minutes, then without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350 for another 20 minutes or so until golden brown.

These are the perfect appetizers for entertaining. You can make them in advance, reheat them in a 375F oven for a few minutes until the shells are slightly crispy again.

The second batch that I made. Didn’t use any prosciutto or herbs, just plain pumpkin and gruyere. It was around 11pm at night, just imagine me running around screaming with joy – “they puffed up!!! wheeee!”