
A French chouquette is the VERY FIRST thing I ate in Paris. We had flown in to Paris non-stop from New York. It was my very first time flying over seas. My husband persuaded me that if I took a Tylenol PM I’d sleep and feel great when we landed. Stop laughing. We all know what a mistake THAT was. Anyways, Brigitte picked us up and whisked us into the city in her little Renault with sans air conditioning. Between the lack of sleep, the hangover from the Tylenol PM, the zippy little car and the smell of the exhaust from the other zippy little cars, I was feeling awful. And, hungry. I whispered to my husband that I must have something to eat and go to sleep. “DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!!” he screamed and then he asked Brigitte to stop and get me something to eat. A few more quick turns and a parallel parking job that I can still picture and I was in front of a boulangerie that “would have to do because the others have already closed”. I stumbled in and pointed to these little balls with sugar on them. I paid and climbed back into the little car. Heaven. They were light and airy and perfectly sweet. I ate them everyday while we were there and I will never forget how they tasted. I tried to find a suitable substitute in the States but what I found was that if I made them myself and ate them when they were just barely cool enough that was as close as I could get to the real thing. They are pretty easy to make. I surprise the family with them every now and then if I wake up early enough to get them out of the oven before they wake. A great reminder of your time spent in your Paris vacation rental. Give them a try and let me know what you think!
French Chouquettes
Ingredients:
- ½ cup water
- ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
- ½ cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons pearl sugar, or more to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium sauce pot, bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil in a covered pot over medium heat. Take the pot off the heat, and add in the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. Return the pot to medium-low heat and stir for 60 seconds, until the dough comes away from the sides of the pot and forms a ball.
Turn the dough out into a bowl, and add 1 egg at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until the egg is completely incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Use a tablespoon measure to place balls of dough on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet, spacing out the chouquettes. Dip your finger in a bowl of water, and pat down any spikes in the dough that might burn. Sprinkle with pearl sugar. I sometimes sprinkle sugar onto the Silpat mat before I put down the dough balls.
Bake 10 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the heat to 350°F for 30 additional minutes. Take the chouquettes out of the oven, pierce the bottom of each pastry with a skewer, and cool on a wire rack. The hole in the bottom allows the steam to escape without making the chouquette soggy. Serve when just cooled. Pop them into your mouth alone or smear with jelly.