Cheddar Thyme Gougères

These are Cheddar-Thyme Gougères with creamy goat cheese filling!! A little time consuming but really great Hors d'oeuvres

Basic Recipe
Makes about 4 dozens

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Cheese (of your choice)
  
  2-4 sprigs of thyme, with leaves removed and chopped roughly. (about 1 tsp of the final product)
  

Preparation:

Position a rack in the top third of the oven, and heat the oven to 425 F. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Heat the milk and 4 tbsp butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from burning. When the mixture is simmering and the butter is melted, remove from the heat and add the flour, salt, and pepper all at once. Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine. Return the pan to medium heat and stir hard for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture thickens further and becomes stiff.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the dough on medium speed for a minute to cool the dough slightly. Break the eggs into a liquid measuring cup or a bowl, lightly whisk with a fork. Add the eggs gradually, in 4-5 additions beating well after each portion has been added to incorporate it into the dough. Remove the bowl from the mixer base.
Chop the thyme finely and add to the cheese mixture and blend it in at the end with a wooden spoon. They were not overly salty but you can add a little salt to the mortar and pestle with the thyme to crush it, or on the cutting board to scrap and chop so aromatics are released.

Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag with a large plain tip. The mixture will still be warm.

Pipe the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets in mounds about 1 inch in diameter, leaving a couple of inches between them. Smooth out any points with a wet finger.
Unbaked gougères can be frozen on the baking sheets. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a week.

Put one baking sheet into another to isolate the pastry bottoms from strong heat and slide the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the gougères are well puffed. Reduce the oven temperature to 375F and continue baking until golden brown, 10 to12 minutes more. Let them cool slightly on the baking sheet.
If baking the previously frozen pastries, there’s no need to completely defrost them before baking; just let the frozen gougères sit on the baking sheet on a counter while the oven is preheating.

Thanks to Source for recipe


For the filling I added some lemon zest and black pepper to some goat cheese whisking it with a bit of sour cream, yogurt or creme fraiche for a smooth filling.