Herb & Cheddar Gougères

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, add flour and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a smooth dough. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. The dough should dry out slightly and pull away from the pan.

Scrape the dough into a medium bowl and let cool for 2 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, beat eggs one at a time into the dough, beating thoroughly after each addition. The batter will separate after each egg, but keep stirring: it will come back together. Add cheese, mustard, thyme and rosemary and fold to combine.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a round 3/8- to 3/4-inch pastry tip (or use a gallon-size plastic bag with about 3/4 inch snipped off a corner). Pipe 25 small mounds of dough onto each prepared baking sheet, making each a littler wider than a quarter.

Bake, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through, until puffed and golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.