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Yield: approximately 25 gougères.

½ pounds Neese’s Country Sausage
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup bread flour
3 eggs
½ cup Gruyère cheese, finely grated
1 tablespoon thyme, minced
1 tablespoon green onions, minced

Preheat oven to 400° on the convection setting. If you do not have a convection setting, preheat oven to 425°. In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook the sausage, crumbling as you go. Once fully cooked, transfer sausage to a sheet pan to cool, leaving behind oil in pan.

To the pan, add butter, milk, and salt and bring to a boil.

Add flour and stir until the mixture is combined and starts to pull away from the sides of pan. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until a smooth and glossy dough forms and a frond of cooked dough starts to develop on the bottom of pan.

Transfer dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating between each addition. The dough is ready once it is glossy, stretchy, and holds its peak and tapers off the spoon when poured off.

Add cheese, cooked sausage, and herbs to dough and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Transfer mixture to a pastry bag with desired tip and pipe shapes onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Bake gougères until brown and the interior is dry and hollow, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven setting.

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