This Fancy French Dessert Is Actually a Cinch to Bake with Kids

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I love baking chocolate chip cookies and banana bread as much as the next person, but when it comes to homemade treats, my 7-year-old and I make something a little more unexpected: Chouquettes. Pronounced shoe-ket (like the thing you wear on your feet, plus the second syllable of the word “basket”), these hollow, sugar-crusted puffs of choux dough are a crisp and tender miracle. We first discovered them in France where they’re often displayed in tempting mounds at the corner boulangerie, sold by weight as an after-school snack, or presented by twinkly-eyed bakers to well-behaved children. 

Chouquettes are made of choux pastry, which sounds intimidating, but is actually a combination of fridge and pantry staples you likely already have on hand — butter, eggs, flour, salt, and sugar — making them a snap to whip up. The only special ingredient you need is pearl sugar (also called Swedish pearl sugar), which is sugar that has been compressed into small chunks; they stud the surface of the puffs and add to their airy crunch. (And, they look absolutely beautiful and festive!) Pearl sugar is available online and we keep a bag in the cupboard — but if you can’t find it, you could use chocolate chips.

Choux dough is great to make with kids because it’s really just a simple paste of butter, water, flour, and eggs; and it’s hard to mess up — my daughter and I have been making it together since she was 4-years-old. She’s now almost 8 and can almost make it by herself. The crucial step is cooking the dough on the stove for two minutes, which allows any excess water to evaporate — make sure to set a timer, as this is the secret to light choux! Then allow your kids to crack the eggs, one by one, into the dough, and help them beat the mixture thoroughly. While some people use a pastry bag to pipe the dough into small mounds on the baking tray, I prefer using two spoons, which means I can make chouquettes anywhere without much equipment or fuss. Sprinkling the lumps of uncooked dough with pearl sugar is the best part of the process — especially tasting the sugar, of course! Even really little kids can help with this step.

Choux dough is magical because it initially looks like gobs of paste, but when you pop it in a hot oven, it inflates and transforms into light, hollow shells. My daughter and I love sitting in front of the oven door, watching the puffs as they expand and turn golden brown, and fill the kitchen with their irresistible sugary scent. And of course nothing tastes better than a warm chouquette fresh from the oven, with its marvelous crisp crust and tender, eggy center. The only challenge is not eating the whole batch in one sitting!