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    Recipes » Desserts » French Desserts

    Homemade Chouquettes

    Published: Sep 21, 2020 · Modified: Mar 11, 2021 by Marissa Stevens · 70 Comments

    Vegetarian

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    Chouquettes served in a wire basket

    To look at these little beauties, you wouldn't think that you could whip up a batch in less than an hour. Chouquettes (pronounced shoo-kets) are French pastry sugar puffs and can also be made into profiteroles (French cream puffs) if you're feeling fancy.

    Choquettes served in a cloth lined copper basket

    It's that magic pâte à choux dough recipe again, the very same one used to make savory Gougères. But instead of Gruyère cheese and black pepper, you'll add a little sugar to the dough and a generous sprinkle of pearl sugar to the top.

    Choquettes Served in a Linen Lined Basket

    How to Make Chouquettes

    Making the chouquette dough is simple. (Also called choux pastry - the same dough used by patisseries in France to make eclairs, profiteroles, gougeres, and more.) You'll bring most of the recipe ingredients to a boil then add the flour all at once and stir like crazy until it's smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan. After the dough cools for a few minutes, you'll whisk in the eggs one by one.

    step by step images for making choux pastry dough

    I take a rustic approach to forming these, scooping them out in heaps with a small cookie scoop or a couple of teaspoons, but you can certainly pipe them from a pastry bag onto the baking sheet if you want more uniform puffs. A thin sugar glaze (genius tip from Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris - first pair of photos below) and pearl sugar sprinkle promise a sweet crackle in every bite.

    making sugar glaze
    scooping glazing and baking chouquette dough

    Chouquettes bake into golden brown little pastries that are crisp on the outside, and hollow, creamy and tender within (before removing from oven, turn off the oven, open it a crack and leave for 5 minutes to ensure that they don't deflate). They're wonderful snacks or party fare and a perfect edible gift. Wrap them up in a little paper sack as they do in Paris boulangeries.

    More of My Favorite French Recipes

    • French Onion Soup (The classic with a bite-size twist on the toasted bread.)
    • Coq au Vin Blanc (A twist on the traditional, simplified and with white wine.)
    • Salad Lyonnaise (It's easy to make this French bistro salad at home!)
    • Lyonnaise Potatoes (Buttery potatoes tossed with sweet, caramelized onions.)
    • Baked Eggs (A crowd pleasing appetizer that you can assemble in 5 minutes flat!)
    • Brioche Bun Recipe (A simple no-knead recipe for feather light, buttery brioche buns.)
    • Peach Clafoutis (A riff on one of the most cherished, home-baked French desserts!)
    • Blueberry Clafoutis (Another version of the French classic!)

    Chouquettes Recipe Video

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    chouquettes served in a cloth lined copper basket

    Homemade Chouquettes (French Pastry Sugar Puffs)

    Marissa Stevens
    Simple to make and absolutely delicious, chouquettes are lightly sweet pastry puffs that make a wonderful snack and perfect party fare.
    4.82 from 16 votes
    Save Recipe Saved! Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Oven Resting Time 5 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine French
    Servings 35 Chouquettes
    Calories 46 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup water
    • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon fine salt
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 grams
    • 4 large eggs
    • 2 tablespoons pearl sugar (recipe note #3)

    Sugar Glaze

    • 2 tablespoons water
    • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 400ºF.
    • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Heat water, sugar, salt, and butter in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
    • Let dough cool for 2 minutes then whisk in eggs, one at a time, until shiny and smooth. Set aside. (recipe note #1)
    • To make sugar glaze, combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat; cook and stir until sugar dissolves, about one minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
    • Scoop dough onto baking sheet with small cookie scoop (a leveled 1 tablespoon scoop is ideal). Or, scoop a walnut-size mound of dough with a teaspoon and, with a second teaspoon, scrape onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing the dough mounds evenly apart, giving them a little room to spread. (Or pipe dough onto baking sheet with a ½-inch round tip.)
    • Brush dough mounds with sugar syrup then sprinkle generously with pearl sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Turn oven off and crack the door open for 5 minutes before removing them (this should prevent the chouquettes from deflating). (recipe note #2) Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

    Notes

    1. Don't be alarmed when the dough is lumpy as you add the eggs. Keep whisking (or stirring) vigorously and the dough will become smooth.
    2. For chouquettes that are more crispy, pierce with a sharp knife immediately after removing from the oven to allow steam to escape.
    3. Be sure to use Swedish pearl sugar as the Belgian variety is much larger and won't stick well.
    4. To serve these as profiteroles, just slice in half crosswise and fill with custard, whipped cream, pastry cream, or ice cream and drizzle with chocolate sauce if you like.
    5. If you won't be eating all of these the same day you cook them, they freeze beautifully. Let cool, then transfer to freezer bag for up to one month. Two great options for reheating:
      1. To reheat straight from the freezer: preheat oven to 350ºF then turn oven off. Arrange frozen chouquettes on ungreased baking sheet and, after you turn oven off, place in oven for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
      2. For a crispier version: Thaw at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Arrange thawed chouquettes on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 46kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 25mgPotassium: 12mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 91IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword baby shower, copycat, dinner party, edible gift, Mother's Day
    Tried this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram at @pinchandswirl or leave me a comment and rating below.

    More French Desserts

    • Blueberry Clafoutis
    • Peach Clafoutis
    • Dark Chocolate Lavender Blueberry Truffles

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Maria says

      December 06, 2022 at 6:05 pm

      I have Lars Belgian sugar. Do you think if I put a bit of it in the food processor (or the mini-chop) and buzzed it up slightly, the result will be Swiss sugar? .....like the sugar topping you see in the finished product photos of this video for Chouquettes? Thank you

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        December 06, 2022 at 6:52 pm

        Hi Maria! I haven't tried to break up Belgian pearl sugar myself. The food processor might work, but it would be easy to overdo. I wonder if you could crush it inside a plastic zip-top bag with a meat mallet or rolling pin?

        Reply
    2. Jessica says

      November 17, 2022 at 9:39 pm

      5 stars
      10/10 Love love love it! I had my first chouquette years ago and just recently remembered the name. Your recipe was perfect!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        November 19, 2022 at 8:38 am

        This is wonderful to hear, Jessica! Thank you for coming back to let me know!

        Reply
    3. Rose says

      November 10, 2022 at 6:48 pm

      They were really good but the batter was to runny after the 4 large eggs so maybe do 4 medium eggs or 3 large eggs for a better consistency everything else was great.

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        November 10, 2022 at 6:55 pm

        Hi there, Rose. I'm glad you enjoyed these. I've always made this recipe with large eggs and haven't had a runny batter. I'm not sure what happened?

        Reply
    4. Di says

      August 06, 2022 at 5:59 pm

      5 stars
      Elegant, easy, delicious and versatile. I would love if you could give us your rendition of the eclair custard. Thank you for a very useful site.

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        August 09, 2022 at 10:44 am

        My pleasure, Di! So glad you enjoyed these and that's a great challenge. I'll see what I can do. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Adela says

      August 05, 2022 at 4:02 pm

      5 stars
      So simple and delicious. Unfortunately I turned my pan around at 10 minute mark, because they were browning pretty fast. Big mistake. They collapsed underneath. I ended up taking them out at 14 minutes. They were pretty golden by then. Second batch came out beautiful after baking using convection oven at 350 degrees. I forgot to put the sugar glaze and pearls on top! I guess I’ll dip the tops in chocolate instead.

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        August 05, 2022 at 4:04 pm

        Thank you for your sweet comment and cooking notes, Adela! I'm glad you got the recipe sorted just right for your oven and great idea to dip them in chocolate.

        Reply
    6. Lori says

      May 27, 2022 at 6:26 pm

      5 stars
      Just discovered these in France last week and am so happy to find a recipe.

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        May 27, 2022 at 7:50 pm

        Wonderful! I hope you'll love your own homemade version, Lori!

        Reply
    7. Jeff says

      October 10, 2021 at 8:04 am

      4 stars
      Your recipe saved me after David Lebovitz’s directions to merely heatthe water until the butter melts, rather than boiling, which resulted in a batter rather than a dough. This was much better, though a little rest in the refrigerator made the still-loose dough much more manageable (maybe my eggs were oversized). However, you should specify Swedish pearl sugar, since my Belgian pearl sugar was way too large to properly coat the tops.

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 10, 2021 at 4:30 pm

        So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jeff! You're right about using the smaller Swedish pearl sugar. I've added a recipe note about it.

        Reply
    8. Valentina says

      October 04, 2020 at 7:57 pm

      5 stars
      I haven't made choux pastry for years and this is a most delicious reminder that I must do it. I would LOVE these with my coffee. Everyday. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 05, 2020 at 2:34 pm

        haha...me too! Thank you, Valentina!

        Reply
    9. Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says

      September 23, 2020 at 7:36 am

      5 stars
      How delicious do these look Marissa?! I'd certainly have an issue with portion control. Lol! Can't wait to give this recipe a try. Pinned!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        September 23, 2020 at 11:32 am

        Excited for you to try these, Mary Ann! And, haha, the struggle is real! It's nice that they freeze so well so I can get them out of arm's reach quickly.

        Reply
    10. David @ Spiced says

      September 22, 2020 at 5:08 am

      5 stars
      Pearl sugar is such a fun thing! I remember when I first stumbled across it at a grocery store in Europe. I bought like 4 boxes to bring home! (Of course, now there's Amazon for everything....haha.) I need to pull some of that pearl sugar out to make these chouquettes for sure!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        September 23, 2020 at 11:32 am

        It really is a fun ingredient! I hope you'll give these a try, David.

        Reply
    11. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

      September 22, 2020 at 4:18 am

      5 stars
      I need these right now with my morning coffee! They look so perfect and super delish! What a treat and talk about a fun project to do on the weekend 🙂

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        September 23, 2020 at 11:33 am

        Thanks so much, Dawn!

        Reply
    12. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

      September 21, 2020 at 8:06 pm

      5 stars
      You're so talented! These look wonderful - and I'm glad you told us how to pronounce them 😉 I'm dreaming of a little basket of a warm batch of these in my hands!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        September 23, 2020 at 11:33 am

        And you're so kind, Katherine! Thank you!

        Reply
    13. Lea says

      March 20, 2019 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Marissa! Thank you for this delicious recipe. I just got those beauties out of the oven 10 minutes ago and they look and smell amazing. However, I divided the dough into two ( one half, followed your recipe. And the for the second half, I smothered it with cinnamon and some vanilla because why not lol)
      It was just perfect. I just wanted to say thank you 🙂

      Reply
      • Marissa says

        March 20, 2019 at 5:05 pm

        Aww, Lea, you made my day! Thank you!

        Reply
    14. Natasha de Sousa says

      March 03, 2019 at 12:38 pm

      Where did you get your pearl sugar? I bought mine off amaZon but the sugar pearls are too big - especially compared to the ones I’ve seen used in our local French bakery.
      The recipe is great! Have made these many times and they disappear within minutes! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Marissa says

        March 04, 2019 at 1:54 pm

        Hi Natasha! I'm so glad you're enjoying the chouquettes! I bought pearl sugar at my local grocery store - it was this brand and variety.

        Reply
    15. Linda Barbour says

      February 23, 2019 at 6:39 pm

      These are yummy! I’m making them for our Girl Scout World Thinking Day party tomorrow. Gonna have to make a second batch since we’ve eaten some! Wondering if dipping them in strawberry sauce or chocolate sauce will make them more inticing to kids. Will give it a shot and let you know. Thanks for the super easy recipe! Linda

      Reply
      • Marissa says

        February 24, 2019 at 3:53 pm

        Hi Linda! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the Chouquettes! Dipping them in strawberry or chocolate sauce sounds delicious to me!! 🙂

        Reply
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