The very last thing I cook on Thanksgiving day is one of the first to get eaten. After the table has been set, while the turkey’s resting on the cutting board and everyone is gathering in the living room, I make a quick batch of gougères to pass with the Champagne.
Gougères are basically cheese éclairs—the dough is the same pâte à choux with which the sweets are made but with cheese and herbs (or even more elaborate ingredients) added at the last moment. They’re so simple and delicious it feels like cheating. The only caveat is that they require both a stand mixer and a pastry bag—and if you don’t have a pastry bag I bet you can use a spoon.
Here’s what you do: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or so and, if you have one, prepare a large pastry bag with a star tip. Put four eggs in the bottom of the mixer bowl and cover them with warm water. Measure out a cup of all-purpose flour and a big handful of grated cheese (Gruyère is traditional, but I’ve often used parmesan or some facsimile thereof). Finely mince a few large pinches of herbs like parsley or thyme if you like.
Put a stick of butter, a cup of water, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil and let the butter melt completely. Dump the flour in all at once and start stirring quickly. The mixture will form a stiff, smooth ball after thirty seconds or so. Cook the ball for another minute or two, stirring constantly, then remove it from the heat. Pour the water out of the mixing bowl, set the now-warm eggs aside, and put the batter in the bowl. Mix slowly with the paddle and add the eggs one at a time, letting each one get incorporated before adding the next. Then add the cheese and herbs. When everything is just mixed put the batter in the pastry bag and pipe onto a baking sheet. At Thanksgiving I make them bite-sized, but they work fine in larger sizes. Bake 10 to 20 minutes, until the gougères have puffed up a bunch and are still a little moist and eggy inside. (Tragically, you can only see if they’re ready by trying one yourself.) You can change for dinner while they’re in the oven, then reappear, elegant and relaxed, just in time for canapés.
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