Chicken Puffs Amandine

These savory choux puffs are built on the same workhorse dough as cream puffs, only here the water gets swapped for chicken broth and the filling stays inside the batter rather than piped in afterward. Deviled chicken spread and sliced almonds get folded straight into the shiny, sticky dough, so every bite bakes up with flavor baked in.

A few drops of almond extract do the quiet work here, pushing the toasted nut flavor forward without reading as sweet. The puffs come out of the hot oven crisp-shelled and hollow, ready for a tray at cocktail hour or a spot alongside soup.

Kitchen Tips

• Add the flour all at once and stir hard. The dough should pull away from the pan and form a tight ball within a minute, which is the sign the starches have set.
• Cool the dough for a couple of minutes before beating in the eggs. Adding them to a screaming hot dough will scramble the yolks and ruin the rise.
• Beat each egg in completely before adding the next. The dough will look broken after the first egg and smooth out with the second, which is normal.
• Bake until deeply golden, not just pale blonde. Underbaked puffs collapse as they cool.

Variations

• Swap the chicken spread for ham salad or finely minced smoked salmon for a different retro direction.
• Add a pinch of cayenne and sharp cheddar for a spicier, cheesier gougere-style bite.
• Skip the almond extract and fold in chopped chives and black pepper for a more savory, herbal version.