Weird because most of us who bake are used to mixing dough ingredients together and then plopping them in the oven. With a pâte a choux dough, you essentially half cook the dough first, by adding flour to boiling water and butter, and stirring like a madman until you have a ball of dough the consistency of play-dough. Then you mix in eggs and then the dough goes in the oven, where it puffs up as the water in the dough turns to steam and expands into air pockets. The dough is used for making cream puffs, eclairs, cheese puffs (gougères), beignets, and even churros. David Lebovitz has a recipe for making a French tart crust with what looks to me to be essentially a pâte a choux dough, that has been getting raves. So, it’s a useful technique, and pretty easy, though the dough can be a little stiff to work by hand. These cheese puffs are made with cheddar cheese and a little bit of thyme. You could add crumbled bacon to the mix, or use sage or rosemary. You could use goat cheese instead of cheddar, or Gruyere or Emmenthaler (more traditional for a gougère). Feel free to experiment with the cheeses! By the way, Michael Ruhlman has an excellent chapter on pâte a choux and gougères in his Ratio book. These cheese puffs? Excellent as dumplings in split pea soup. Use instead of croutons. Or devour them as they were intended, as a savory, addictive appetizer. It helps to use a wooden spoon to stir as the dough will be rather thick. Continue to cook for a couple minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until the eggs are incorporated into the dough. (Do this part in a mixer if you want, or by hand with a wooden spoon.) The dough should become rather creamy. Pâte a Choux and explanation by Michael Ruhlman Gougères by David Lebovitz French tart dough made by using a pâte a choux method, by David Lebovitz Sage and gorgonzola cheese puffs from Dara, the Cookin’ Canuck Wikipedia on choux pastry
