Recipe of the Week is contributed by Seattle-based award-winning cookbook author, urban farmer and Seattle magazine contributor Amy Pennington.

The holiday season is a lovely time for inviting friends and loved ones into your home and putting out a wow-worthy spread of nibbles and meals. This year, bypass the usual towering platters of cheese and charcuterie and mix it up by offering gougère. This egg-based, cooked dough is easy to make and infinitely affordable, making them a no brainer for any budget.

These delicate, one-bite appetizers set the tone for a festive night. The dough can be made well in advance and frozen, allowing eager hosts to bake them just before serving. The addition of finely diced kale adds some healthy green to this petite, savory snack. This easy, fast-cooking nosh comes together quickly—you’ll have them made, shaped and baked in about half an hour. 

Kale Gougères
Excerpted from Fresh Pantry, Skipstone Publishing
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN

1 cup water
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¾ cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
3 kale leaves, blanched, squeezed dry, and finely chopped (about ½ cup)
2 green onions, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and nutmeg to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the stovetop and stir in the flour until well combined. Reduce the heat to medium-high and return the saucepan to the stovetop. Mix the dough, continually and vigorously, until it comes together in a smooth, sticky mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the saucepan, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the eggs, one at a time, by beating quickly with a wooden spoon, until all the eggs are incorporated. Stir in the zest, kale, and green onions until well combined.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large 1/ 2-inch tip. You may also use a plastic bag, with the corner cut off to form a small hole. Pipe rounds of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 1-inch wide (make sure their edges don’t touch). You may also drop small rounds of dough using a small spoon. Bake the gougères until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

If not serving these immediately, freeze rounds of dough on baking sheets and, once frozen, store them in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer until ready to use.

PANTRY NOTE: Depending on your tastes, try these with grated cheese— sharp cheddar or Gruyère work equally well. Add a filling to these gougères for an even more delicious snack; flavored cream cheese, a smoked fish paste, or puréed vegetables make delicious fillings. Pipe in the filling of choice as if you were filling a donut and serve immediately. Leftover gougères hold in an airtight container for about two days before going stale.