Green Onion/Scallion

Paprika-Scented Manchego Cheese Chorizo Puffs

Name: Paprika-Scented Manchego Cheese Chorizo Puffs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: Makes 24
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 3/4 cup chorizo, finely diced; 3/4 cup manchego cheese, finely diced; 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced; 1 cup water; 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt; 1 cup flour; 4 large eggs; 2 tablespoons sweet paprika; 1/2 cup sea salt

by: Half-Buzzed Hostess

December 7, 2011

4 Ratings

Paprika-Scented Manchego Cheese Chorizo Puffs

Photo by James Ransom

Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 40 minutes
Makes 24

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Author Notes

Homemade puff pastry combined with chopped chorizo and manchego cheese. The hardest part of this recipe: not eating all the cheese while you're cooking. (So do what I do and buy extra cheese so you can pick while you cook. Self restraint is over-rated.) —Half-Buzzed Hostess

Test Kitchen Notes

These puffs are a delightfully simple way to amp up your holiday table. Manchego and chorizo are a classic pairing, and investing in the good Spanish stuff will pay dividends here. To keep the Iberian theme going, consider using a sharp pimenton in lieu of paprika. (Either way, though, be careful to dust the paprika salt lightly over the puffs. A nice, light sprinkle will add a lovely bite that contrasts well with the puffs' pillowy interior; a heavy-handed approach could result in fatal oversalting.) —mitschlag

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F. In a bowl, combine chorizo, cheese, and scallions. Set aside. In a heavy saucepan, bring water, 1/4 tsp. salt, and butter to a boil until butter is melted. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Return the saucepan to to medium heat and stir with the wooden spoon until a film develops on the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes. Transfer dough to an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat the dough for 5 minutes. Stir in the chorizo mixture. Transfer to a pastry bag. Pipe dough into 1-inch balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. While the puffs are cooking, combine paprika and sea salt. Remove puffs from the oven and immediately sprinkle with paprika mixture. Serve warm.

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26 Reviews

Darian March 6, 2020

These were awesome! My family loved them. This was my first attempt at gougeres and now I can't wait to try variations.

Laeb N. March 2, 2018

This looks awesome. Definitely will try.

Enid M. October 1, 2016

I can't wait to try this recipe - it sounds fabulous. But please don't call this puff pastry! There's a world of difference between puff pastry and cream puff pastry, also called pate a choux.

Nancy December 17, 2015

I love this recipe!! They are amazingly delicious and smell so wonderful while baking. I have never had any luck making choux before and I now feel like I can do this all day! The method worked beautifully for me and I will use this recipe for other gougeres. I got 32 from this. Even though I have a convection oven they took the full 25 minutes to bake. The paprika salt didn't really stick as well as I thought, maybe I used too little due to the warning about fatal over salting. Make this!

Danute February 16, 2015

can i spoon batter instead of piping?

procrastibaker July 20, 2014

I just pulled these out of the oven and have to keep stopping myself from eating them, as they're intended for a dinner party tonight. They are just divine! I subbed aleppo sausage (cooked, crumbled, and drained *very* well) for the chorizo, and it matched the manchego and paprika perfectly. Maybe just one more before the guests arrive...

borntobeworn April 27, 2014

I made a double batch + a little (to use up the chorizo), hoping to get about 60 of these (since the recipe says it makes 24). Mine made about 160!! I wasn't that skilled at piping the dough from a ziploc bag but my resulting puffs across the bottom are 1.25" across to 1.5" across. Did anyone else who made just a single batch get way more than 24?? I'm freezing them and can use all the excess (have 3 events coming up in May) but I was up until 4:30am making them (planned to be in bed by 1:30)!

Marisa February 5, 2014

I made these for a jewelery party I hosted for a bunch of women. Everyone loved them! I didn't have all the ingredients so I subbed sopresatta for chorizo and asiago for manchego. They were amazing!

LisaSchulteis September 24, 2013

Ahhhmazing. Everyone asked for the recipe. Will definitely make these again for a party.

maryvelasquez March 31, 2013

Dear Half-Buzzed Hostess,
I made and served these puffs at my wedding. I made four batches and each one came out perfect. I piped them using plastic zip-loc bags because I couldn't find my pastry equipment and it worked just fine. I froze them in tupperware and the caterers arranged them on cookie sheets and put them right into the hot oven. My guests devoured them (with champagne) and couldn't believe that they were homemade. I like to think that the bride and groom were the most memorable part of the wedding, but I think these puffs stole the show. Cheers!

Manhattan T. February 5, 2013

You absolutely can make these w/o a mixer, just do be sure to stir them plenty. The chorizo in this recipe, though not specified, is the Spanish variety that is precooked (texture is like salami) not the uncooked Mexican type (texture is like sausage). Either would work, I suppose, but the Mexican chorizo would have to be cooked & crumbled small and drained VERY, VERY well. I'd just use the Spanish type -- or even a good, spicy, Calabrian salami as a replacement (I did that once and nobody threw a gougere at me and called me a liar).

WoooPigSooie February 4, 2013

Can I make these if I don't have an electric mixer or will I be stirring until my arm falls off? Also - should I precook the chorizo?

Manhattan T. January 4, 2013

These can go south if you don't cook the flour/butter/water mixture long enough (the purpose of that step is to eliminate much of the water). I let mine cook over med. heat at least 5 minutes but have had your same troubles before when I've not cook & stirred for long enough. I put a link in, down below, to an LA Times article that you may find helpful. If not, cook & stir for longer next time and you'll be fine!

Julie N. January 5, 2013

Thanks much. Next time I will definitely cook the flour/butter mixture longer.

Julie N. January 4, 2013

Just made these, and they are indeed very tasty. One small issue I had: I thought they would be ball shaped after baking, but my dough was quite liquidy, and in the end they came out on the flat side. I tried sticking the dough in the freezer for a bit and that helped a bit, but only just. I am guessing my ingredients were off somewhere. Would be great to have ingredients in weight rather than volume. A cup of flour in my kitchen might weigh more/less than a cup of flour in another kitchen...

brooklynsam January 1, 2013

I just made these as a snack to accompany watching the Rose Bowl. Amazing.

Manhattan T. January 1, 2013

Made these for a New Year's appetizer and they were delicious. I made them smaller (the yield was about 60) and minced the chorizo in the food processor so it wouldn't be a problem piping them. I piped then left them at room temp for about an hour before baking and they held just fine. These had fabulous flavor -- even without the paprika salt. A perfect "light" munchie to accompany bubbly. I froze a few to bake later; will just add a few minutes to the baking time, no thawing necessary.

ChiSwiss January 1, 2013

A stick of butter in the US is 4 oz or about 112 gr.

Margaret M. December 31, 2012

How much is a stick of butter in ounces or grams?

dcremerssf December 31, 2012

don't be put off by the term "puff pastry"; these aren't really puff pastries, which can be tedious to make, but rather the much simpler-to-make pate au choux piped-pastry

salmontrot December 9, 2012

Sorry. I just saw the link below from Manhattan Tart. Of course you can freeze. Thanks, Manhattan. Nice tip.