Good snacking: gougeres

They're made from essentially the same eggy dough used for cream puffs, but for the addition of Parmesan. A little more Parm gets sprinkled on top with some crunchy sea salt.

They bake in just 20 minutes, which is a good thing on a hot day. And they're at their best hot, right out of the oven.

I made a batch last weekend for a gathering in a neighbor's garden and they were quickly gobbled up.

Warm Gougeres With Crunchy Sea Salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt or kosher salt

1 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese (divided use)

coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in the yogurt and reduce the heat to medium. Add the flour and stir until the mixture dries out slightly and no longer tastes of raw flour, 7 to 9 minutes.

Transfer the batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.

Use 2 spoons to drop 1 1/4-inch (walnut size) blobs of batter on the lined baking sheets. Sprinkle each puff with a pinch of the remaining grated cheese and pinch of coarse salt.

Bake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Serve as soon as possible.

From "Chef Interrupted" by Melissa Clark.

Los Angeles Times photo