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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian Recipes

    Parmesan-Rosemary Gougères with Goat Cheese Filling

    Published: Dec 14, 2014 · Modified: Dec 15, 2022 · by Debra with Leave a Comment · 1800 words. About 9 minutes to read this article. · This post contains affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These tasty little cheese puffs, or gougères in French, made from pâte à choux dough are simpler to make than you might think, and the goat cheese makes a creamy and delicious gougères filling. It's an easy appetizer recipe for cocktail parties or holidays.

    Parmesan-Rosemary gougères filled with herbed goat cheese lined up on a wooden cutting board.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.

    When you serve these gougères made from classic pâte à choux dough people will think you trained at the Cordon Bleu. But they are deceptively easy to make.

    Once you learn how to make this basic dough, it can be made sweet or savory for a variety of wow-inducing recipes including éclairs, cream puffs and even a Christmas Croquembouche. The key is the stirring. I'll also teach you a trick I learned from Rachel Khoo that makes it easy to fill that pastry bag so you are ready to pipe these cheesy bites with no muss and no fuss.

    Make these cheesy gougères for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day apps or New Year's Eve. You could even take them to the office and blow their socks off at the annual holiday potluck. I mean, really, they are cheese puffs. And everyone likes those.

    Jump to:
    • What are gougères?
    • Gougères are simple, quick, elegant and versatile!
    • Ingredients you'll need
    • How to make parmesan rosemary gougères
    • FAQ
    • Tips for making gougères
    • More cocktail party recipes
    • Recipe

    What are gougères?

    Gougères are French cheese puffs made from pâte à choux pastry dough. This is the same dough that is used to make éclairs, profiteroles, etc. Gougères are a perfect little portable hand-held bite, so they are great to serve for cocktail party nibbles and other appetizer situations when you don't want to mess with utensils.

    Gougères are simple, quick, elegant and versatile!

    • Pâte à choux dough takes just a few minutes to make.
    • The gougères cook in about 20 minutes!
    • Choose from a variety of savory fillings and herbs, customize to your taste.
    • They are the perfect bite to serve with cocktails or champagne!
    Mascarpone, goat cheese, parmesan and fresh herbs on a wooden cutting board.

    Ingredients you'll need

    To make pâte à choux pastry dough, you only need a few ingredients. Eggs, butter, flour and salt combine to form something truly wonderful!

    • Flour, water, salt, butter, eggs: These are the ingredients for the basic dough.
    • Parmesan cheese and fresh rosemary: To give the gougères a distinct savory flavor and wonderful aroma.
    • Goat cheese: Makes the filling nice and tangy.
    • Mascarpone cheese: Sometimes called Italian cream cheese, it adds creaminess to the filling.
    • Lemon zest and fresh parsley: Provide a fresh, light finish to the filling so it doesn't seem heavy.

    How to make parmesan rosemary gougères

    Pâte à choux pastry recipe adapted from Baking by James Peterson.

    Step 1: Make the pâte à choux

    Combine water, salt, and butter in a saucepan over high heat. You don't need to stir it as it heats, just be sure that the butter melts quickly and your water doesn't start to evaporate while you are waiting for it to melt.

    Turn heat down to medium and add all flour at once. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes cohesive, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and leaves a thin coating of flour on the sides/bottom of the pan.

    A saucepan containing pâte à choux dough with a wooden spoon in it.

    Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon for about one minute to cool it down.

    Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until you have added all four.

    A glass bowl of pâte à choux dough with a wooden spoon sliding through the middle.

    You'll know that the dough is ready when you can slide a wooden spoon down the middle and it makes a groove that slowly closes in on itself.

    Pâte à choux dough dropping from a wooden spoon into a glass bowl filled with more dough.

    Or when it gently drops from the spoon when held sideways.

    If it is still too thick, you can add one egg white at a time until it comes to the proper consistency.

    Pâte à choux dough with parmesan and rosemary in a glass bowl with a spatula.

    Step 2: Add the cheese and rosemary

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    Add cheese and rosemary. Stir gently to combine.

    Gougère dough being spooned into a zip top bag.

    Step 3: Pipe the gougères and bake

    Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a straight tip or use a large plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off. (See tip below.)

    Pâte á choux dough for gougères on parchment paper.

    Line a baking sheet with parchment and pipe out bonbon sized balls of dough.Leave a good amount of space between because they will expand.

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    Dip your index finger in a tiny bit of water and smooth down and little peaks that may result from the piping to ensure you have a nice round puff.

    Freshly baked parmesan-rosemary gougères on a parchment lined cooling rack.

    Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, rotating once during baking. Cool on a wire rack.

    Step 4: Make the herbed goat cheese and fill the gougères

    For the gougères filling, simply allow the goat cheese and mascarpone to soften at room temperature, then combine with the lemon zest and parsley.

    Transfer to pastry bag or freezer bag as described above.

    Gougères filling made with goat cheese, mascarpone and fresh herbs.

    Once the cheese puffs have cooled, gently punch a hole in the bottom or break open at the side and fill with a dollop of the goat cheese mixture.

    Don't fill them too full, you just want a bit of that tangy, bright surprise, about the size of a marble.

    alt=""

    FAQ

    Can choux pastry dough be refrigerated?

    You can make the dough a day or two in advance and store it in the refrigerator in a pastry bag or zip-top bag.

    Can you freeze gougères?

    Once the gougères have baked and cooled, they can be stored in the freezer in a zip-top bag for about a month. Reheat them in a 300 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes before serving to get them crisp again.

    Tips for making gougères

    • You can mix this pâte à choux pastry dough in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you prefer, but it's a great workout to mix it by hand (you can do it!) and I also think it helps you to be sure you have all of the egg mixed in, and there is no shiny bit of egg white lurking in a fold somewhere.
    • Here's a tipe to make filling the piping bag easier: Place the opening of the bag down into a large pitcher, glass or vase. Drape the top of the bag over the sides of the opening of your vessel, and use a spatula to spoon the choux dough into the bag. This makes things so much easier than trying to wrangle the bag with one hand and the mixture with the other. All the dough goes to the bottom and you are ready to pipe the gougères!
    • For the gougères filling, goat cheese works well because it's a blank canvas that you can flavor with just about anything to suit your taste, sweet or savory. It can be made a day or two in advance. Allow to soften at room temp before piping into the gougères.

    More cocktail party recipes

    Here are a few more nibbles to consider for your next cocktail party.

    • Did you think radishes with butter could get any better? They can when you make Radishes with Radish Leaf Butter.
    • Use up the rest of that fresh rosemary in this recipe for Oven Roasted Nuts with Rosemary, Sage, and Crispy Garlic.

    Recipe

    Parmesan rosemary gougères on a wooden cutting board.

    Parmesan-Rosemary Gougères with Goat Cheese Filling

    These tasty little cheese puffs that are simpler to make than you might think, and the goat cheese makes a creamy and delicious gougéres filling. It's an easy appetizer recipe for cocktail parties or holidays.
    4.39 from 26 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizers
    Cuisine: French
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Keyword: Gougères with goat cheese filling
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 40 bite-sized puffs
    Calories: 76kcal

    Equipment

    • mixing bowls
    • small sauce pan
    • wooden spoon
    • baking sheet
    • parchment paper

    Ingredients

    Parmesan-Rosemary Gougères

    • 1 cup water
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup unsalted butter cut into small pieces
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour sifted
    • 4 eggs one additional egg white may be needed
    • 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded on the small holes of a box grater
    • 2 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped

    Gougères filling with goat cheese and mascarpone

    • 8 oz goat cheese
    • 4 oz mascarpone cheese
    • 2 tsp lemon zest
    • 3 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
    US Customary - Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    • Combine water, salt, and butter in a saucepan over high heat. You don’t need to stir it as it heats, just be sure that the butter melts quickly and your water doesn’t start to evaporate while you are waiting for it to melt.
    • Turn heat down to medium and add all flour at once. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes cohesive, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and leaves a thin coating of flour on the sides/bottom of the pan.
    • Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon for about one minute to cool it down.
    • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until you have added all four. You’ll know that the dough is ready when you can slide a wooden spoon down the middle and it makes a groove that slowly closes in on itself, or when it gently drops from the spoon when held sideways. If it is still too thick, you can add one egg white at a time until it comes to the proper consistency.
    • Add cheese and rosemary, stir gently to combine
    • Fill a pastry bag with a straight tip or use a large plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off. (See tip below.)
    • Line a baking sheet with parchment and pipe out bonbon sized balls of dough. Leave a good amount of space between because they will expand. You can dip your index finger in a tiny bit of water and smooth down and little peaks that may result from the piping to ensure you have a nice round puff.
    • Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, rotating once during baking. Cool on a wire rack.
    • While preparing the gougères, allow the cheeses to soften at room temperature. Combine goat cheese, mascarpone cheese, lemon zest and parsley in a large bowl. Transfer to pastry bag or freezer bag as described above.
    • Once the puffs have cooled, gently break open at the side and pipe with a dollop of the goat cheese mixture. Don’t fill them full, you just want a bit of that tangy, bright surprise, about the size of a marble.

    Notes

    • To make filling the piping bag easier, place the opening of the bag down into a large pitcher, glass or vase. Drape the top of the bag over the sides of the opening of your vessel, and use a spatula to spoon dough into the bag. (This makes things so much easier than trying to wrangle the bag with one hand and the mixture with the other.)
    • Use good baking sheets like these from Nordic Ware for this recipe. The gougères are delicate puffs and you don't want your baking sheet to warp sideways and ruin them! 
    • Be sure to read the post above for more tips and FAQs.
     
    This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.

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    Hi, I'm Debra! I love to cook and eat and travel, and cook the things I eat when I travel! I'm a detail-oriented Virgo, so it's my jam to simplify recipes and break them down into easy to follow steps. I help you bring the world to your table!

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    Hi, I'm Debra! I love to cook and eat and travel, and cook the things I eat when I travel! I'm a detail-oriented Virgo, so it's my jam to simplify recipes and break them down into easy to follow steps. I help you bring the world to your table!

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