This French Cheese Puff Might Just Change Your Life

The next time you visit a French restaurant, look out for gougères on the menu (or if you're lucky, you may be served them instead of bread). Light and airy puffs of cheesy deliciousness, gougères are one of the most delicious treats on earth.

What exactly is a gougère? It starts with a hot choux paste (similar to what's used to make cream puffs) that's made with a rich combination of water, milk, butter, salt, and flour. Eggs and cheese (usually Gruyère) are added to the mixture before it's piped onto a baking sheet and baked (we like this recipe from Alain Ducasse). During the baking process, the dough puffs up like a popover, leaving the inside light and airy but still rich and slightly creamy. It's all rounded out with nutty Gruyère.

Gougères are insanely delicious and are great on their own or when filled with truffle cream, as we recently discovered on a trip to Paris. If you encounter any, make sure you get a couple orders' worth — they're addictively good and will be gone before you know it.