A tasty chicken salad fills these bite-size choux pastry sandwiches. The puffs (gougères) contain either Gruyère or havarti cheese, and the chicken salad gets excellent flavor from a bit of lemon juice and optional curry powder. Add these little sandwiches to your appetizer menu. A stand mixer makes quick work of the mixing, but a handheld electric mixer works as well.
The recipe makes 3 to 4 dozen small appetizer-size puffs, but feel free to make them a bit larger for luncheon-size chicken salad puffs.
The puffs are perfect for a special occasion. Make them for a shower, a wedding reception, or a family snack. For a special occasion, insert a decorative toothpick in each one with an olive or slice of cornichon.
What Is Choux Pastry?
Choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux, is a dough that originated in France. It’s made primarily with eggs, butter, and milk or water. The high moisture content creates steam as the puffs bake, creating the puffy appearance and hollow center.
To make choux pastry, the water and butter are melted and brought to a boil in a saucepan, then the flour is added to create a thick paste. The paste is then cooled just slightly, then the eggs are beaten into it, one at a time. I move the paste to a stand mixer to cool for about 3 minutes before adding the eggs.
Choux pastry is the base for gougères and desserts, such as cream puffs, eclairs, and the elegant French dessert, croquembouche. Fill them with sweetened whipped cream, pastry cream, creamy seafood, or add cheese and bacon to the choux mixture for cheddar bacon puffs.
PrintChicken Salad Puffs
Use Gruyere or havarti cheese in these yummy little choux puffs. The baked puffs are filled with a delicious chicken salad mixture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 16 to 24 appetizer servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Salads, Sandwiches
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 6 ounces shredded havarti cheese (or Gruyere)
Chicken Salad Filling
- 4 cups finely chopped chicken (cooked)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon curry powder, or to taste, optional
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat or grease the baking sheets.
- Put the water and butter in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring it to a rolling boil. Add flour all at once along with a dash of salt. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
- Remove from heat and transfer the dough to a mixing bowl. Let it cool slightly.
- With an electric mixer, beat the dough for about 1 minute. Add the eggs while continuing to beat until the dough is smooth.
- Beat in the shredded Havarti cheese until well blended; pipe or drop the small mounds of dough (about 1 1/2 teaspoons in size) onto the prepared baking sheet. Wet your finger and smooth any peaks on the mounds. Peaks can scorch in the hot oven.
- Bake the puffs for 17 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; cool.
- Meanwhile, combine the finely chopped chicken with the remaining ingredients, adding extra mayonnaise, as needed, to moisten.
- Split the cooled puffs horizontally with a sharp knife and then fill with about 1 tablespoon of the chicken salad mixture; replace the caps.
- Refrigerate the little sandwich puffs until serving time.
