Nutty cheese and thyme flavor these savory little pastries with a melty Gruyere center.
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
½ tsp. coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 cup finely shredded Gruyere cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs—thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley
36 ½” cubes Gruyere (8 oz.)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring butter and salt and 1 cup water to a boil in large saucepan. Add flour. Stir vigorously until incorporated. Cook until mixture pulls away from sides and a thin film forms on bottom of pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool 2 minutes.
Transfer dough to large bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon to incorporate each egg before adding the next, about 2 minutes. Stir in pepper, herbs, and finely shredded cheese.
On a baking sheet lined with a silicon baking mat, pipe 1 ½” wide rosettes 1” apart. (I usually get two baking sheets ready--just in case I run out of room on the first.) After all the dough has been piped onto the baking mat, make a deep indentation in center with dampened thumb. (I use a small bowl of cold water to wet my thumb between making each indentation.) Bake until crisp and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Press a cheese cube into indentation.
Place on a clean baking sheet. Freeze uncovered until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer to an airtight container. Freeze up to 6 weeks.
**To serve, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place thumbprint on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted—10 to 14 minutes.