Choux pastry is so versatile. I basically want to tick off all the ways you can spin that light pastry dough into something delicious. And everyone does seem to love all versions of things made with it. You can fill them for cream puffs and profiteroles, make eclairs, or take a savory route by incorporating cheese into the pastry to make gougeres. In this case, you can also simply top the dough with coarse pearl sugar to make chouquettes.
Chouquettes are cream puffs that are often eaten as a snack in France, packaged by the handful or so in paper sacks. Funny enough, that makes me think of my own history with Chinese egg waffles. While quite different in taste, they are likewise sold in paper sacks and eaten as a snack. They're harder to get your hands on now but I've had more than my fair share of them in the past.
But back to chouquettes. They are simply mounds of choux pastry topped with a coarse pearl sugar and baked until puffed and golden. The chouquettes are super light and airy, with a lovely eggy taste. It's crisp at first bite but soft and tender on the inside. Even with the signature pearl sugar adornment on top (looking remarkably like salt on a New York style pretzel), chouquettes are ever so mildly sweet.
With their lightness and airiness, these little puffs almost disappear in your mouth. Traditionally, I think you would see these in a smaller size than my version here, as little bites that you can practically pop whole in your mouth.
They are no sweat to make (now that I'm armed with a couple of tips on how to properly cook the dough) and a fun thing to serve - possibly because they look a lot trickier to make than they really are.
These certainly do make a wonderful afternoon snack but I made this batch last Sunday to serve with breakfast. My sister, brother-in-law, and niece slept over the previous night to stay with the little guy while my husband and I attended a wedding. The following morning, I whipped this up and we sat down to a little savory and sweet breakfast spread. We had bacon, eggs, and sausage on the savory side and a pile of these light chouquettes as a sweet offering.
They went down a treat though I have to say it's always nice to sit down with family for a good weekend breakfast no matter what you're eating!
But back to chouquettes. They are simply mounds of choux pastry topped with a coarse pearl sugar and baked until puffed and golden. The chouquettes are super light and airy, with a lovely eggy taste. It's crisp at first bite but soft and tender on the inside. Even with the signature pearl sugar adornment on top (looking remarkably like salt on a New York style pretzel), chouquettes are ever so mildly sweet.
They are no sweat to make (now that I'm armed with a couple of tips on how to properly cook the dough) and a fun thing to serve - possibly because they look a lot trickier to make than they really are.
