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.
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.
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.
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.
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!)
Chouquettes Recipe Video
Homemade Chouquettes (French Pastry Sugar Puffs)
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
- 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.
- For chouquettes that are more crispy, pierce with a sharp knife immediately after removing from the oven to allow steam to escape.
- Be sure to use Swedish pearl sugar as the Belgian variety is much larger and won't stick well.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
I made these tonight with my daughter and they were perfect when I removed them from the oven. They delayed though. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Any tips?
Hi Kirin! They deflated? I'm so sorry to hear that!! I haven't had that happen. Perhaps they needed to cook a few minutes longer? Ovens vary so much that I've suggested a range of 20 to 25 minutes - do you remember how long yours baked?
Hello, I am making these for my son's French class for tomorrow and I am ready to make these little beauties but realizedt hat I'm out of parchment paper so should I grease the bottom of the pan or will this make them flat?
Hi April! I think that greasing the pan will work just fine. Hope everyone loves them!
How long will these last once they are made?
My daughter has a French class party in Wednesday & we were planning on making a few days prior ( Sunday), will they still be fresh?
Hi Connie! I recommend making them, letting them cool completely and then freezing them. When you reheat them, they'll taste 95% as good as when they first came out of the oven! To reheat: preheat oven to 350ºF then turn oven off. Arrange frozen chouquettes on a baking sheet and, after you turn oven off, place in oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until warm.
will this recipe work with gluten free flour?
Hi there. That’s a great question, but It’s not something I’ve tried. To try it, I’d use a gluten free flour intended specifically for baking like this one.
Thank you, just made these for French food day for my son's class. How do I turn this recipe into cream puffs?
Hi Heather! How fun! To turn them into cream puffs: cut them in half side to side and, if you like, pull out any soft dough. (I usually just leave it in.) For a quick option, fill the middle with whipped cream and you can dust a bit of powdered sugar over the top (optional). You can also fill them with a pastry cream like this one. Enjoy!
I must say this recipe is so delicious, thanks for sharing the gem. my husband and my kids they really loved it and I'm so happy that this is such an amazing breakfast snack thank you.
That's wonderful, Supriya! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
Super duper easy! What’s the best way to store these for enjoying this week?
Hi Robyn! They freeze beautifully! To reheat: preheat oven to 350ºF then turn oven off. Arrange frozen chouquettes on a baking sheet and, after you turn oven off, place in oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until warm. Serve.
Do the butter and eggs need to be at room temp before adding them?
Hi Izzy, you'll melt the butter, so no worries about temperature. On the eggs, I typically take them out of the refrigerator before I begin so they've warmed a bit, but I haven't specifically brought them to room temp.
I made these today and while tasty, they burned on the bottom after 20 minutes of bake time and fell flat almost immediately on being removed from the oven. Help! I thought I followed this to a tee!
Hi Kris...Oh no! I'm so sorry that happened! I haven't had them burn before or fall flat. The only thing that comes to mind is that your oven temperature could be off? If you have a separate thermometer, you might try testing it.
We made these tonight for my daughter's high school French class. They were fairly easy to make, though a challenge to drop on the cookie sheet. My only complaint is they smell and taste like eggs. I suppose that is how they are supposed to taste?
Hi Carol, yes at 4 eggs to a cup of flour, eggs are the star. They always remind me of almost a custard flavor which I love!
Hello!
Thank you so much for the recipe. You save the French Cuisine Day at the school of my son and daughter.
Great thanks from Bulgaria /South-Eastern Europe/!
You are so very welcome! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
These truly are lovely. They look just like the ones I remember seeing in paris!
Thank you so much, Jessie! xo
These look divine! My 10 year old daughter is always looking for French dessert recipes. I look forward to making these with her. Did I happen to miss the mention of how many eggs should be used? Thank you for sharing this gem!
Best,
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa! Well that's kind of an important detail I left out, isn't it? 😉 Thank you so much for catching that! It's 4 eggs. I love that you and your daughter are going to make these together, totally made my day.
I don't make these nearly often enough! You're right, they couldn't be easier to make and they are so yummy. I love the use of pearl sugar here, so pretty!
Thank you, Faith! xo
I love these guys, especially savory ones with CHEESE! These however are most tempting and that crunchy exterior sugar addition is wonderful. Just beauties!
aww, thanks so much Kevin!
These are so pretty! I love chouquettes, and just adore pate a choux in general. Fabulous job, my dear! P.S. great use of the basket! 😉
Thank you so much, Beeta! Love my copper basket...xoxo
You can really make these in half an hour? That encourages me because I always steer clear of things like this, thinking they'll take ages and be a total disaster.
The hubs LOVES profiteroles, so I'm sure he'd love these too.
ALWAYS ENJOY your European recipes, Marissa!
You've got to try this some time, Helen! I promise that it's a snap (of course you don't have to admit this to your hubs. 😉 )
So don't judge me, but the worst part of culinary school for me was that dayum pâte à choux dough . Seriously, I could NOT get it right. Everything else in culinary school was a breeze for me, but that dang dough eluded me. I'm thinking you need to come over and make these beautiful puffs for me, because I want a few baskets of these fluffy beauties!! They look just perfect, Marissa! Cheers! <3
What!? Cheyanne, you are such a talented cook, I can't imagine you'd have trouble with almost any recipe. If you lived anywhere near by, I'd be hopping in my car so we could whip up a batch at your place. 😉 Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! xo
These look absolutely delightful Marissa! I have some of that pearl sugar and am always trying to think of ways to use it.
I know what you mean, a little goes a long way! 🙂
Less is More!
So all I will say is YUM!
Maybe I should repeat myself -YUM!
Well said, my friend! 🙂