Gougères

Preparation

• 1
  Preheat the oven to 220°C
• 2
  In a bowl combine the flour, thyme, chili, salt and pepper
• 3
  In a saucepan heat the water and butter until the butter has melted
• 4
  Once the butter melts, add to this the flour and spice mixture and stir vigorously until it comes away from the sides of the saucepan and forms a ball. Remove from heat
• 5
  Transfer the dough to a bowl so that it cools slightly. Add to the dough the eggs one at a time. Beat it vigorously or transfer to a food processor so that the texture becomes smooth
• 6
  Stir in 1 ¼ cups of grated cheese
• 7
  Using either a pastry bag, a freezer bag with the corner cut off or a rounded teaspoon drop the dough onto a baking tray. The puffs should be around 3cm in diameter and should all be roughly the same size
• 8
  On top of this sprinkle the remaining cheese
• 9
  Bake at 220°C for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 200°C and bake for an additional 15 minutes
• 10
  The puffs should be served hot from the oven.