For Christmas I received a pair of these Le Creuset mini round cocottes. So what are some things that I can make in them?
Some suggestions my sister (the giver) provided are:
Any other ideas?
Mini fruit pies!
Individual lasagnas!
Individual Sheppards pie!
So I looked up some recipes, and it turns out they’re actually closer to poached eggs:
But a mini crustless quiche is something else I could make.
They strike me as a bit small for most actual cooking purposes, and the reviewers seem to be predominantly using them for storage and decoration. At 8 oz, I would suggest it as good for single (smallish) servings of French Onion soup, or small servings of green chile mac and cheese. Possibly a mini toad-in-the-hole would be fun as well. I’d also consider using it for single serving roasted/baked veggies for personal serving if I had a picky eater in the house: the small size would work as an advantage in getting someone to eat their veggies!
But honestly, it’s just a bit too small for me to consider using. I have a good set of stoneware handled crocks that cost half as much (admittedly without lids), that hold 12-16 oz at a guess, which I find is a better size for most purposes I can imagine using these for.
I make panna cotta in ours, and individual potatoes dauphinoise.
One would become a by-the-stove salt cellar for Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt while the other would be the salt cellar for Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, but I’m weird like that.
Barring that, anything you would make in a large ramekin, with the added advantage of having a lid, so custards, souffles, crisps, mini-casseroles, etc.
You can also use them as serving dishes for things like compound butter, gravies, lemon wedges, and the like.
Individual servings of Beef Wellington. That’s just a fancy version of a traditional pot pie or meat pie.
I must be stupid. I can’t find anything on the OP’s cite at Le Creuset that says what size these are or what capacity they are. Which seems like kinda basic information one would want before buying them.
Based on the pic of one a serving tray with the oysters and the person’s hands visible I get the general size. I have a cheap knock-off set of about the same thing.
They’re elegant serving bowls for soup. For “we’re foodies who live in our kitchen” values of “elegant”. I’ve made a real nice French Onion soup in them. Twice-baked potatoes are another option.
But in general, they’re kind of a PITA. For any bulk casserole/stew/soup -ish thing it’s far simpler to cook in bulk and serve into these than it is to cook directly in these.
I didn’t see a specific size either. It’s probably around 8 oz., which is not much. They’re good for individual servings, or sauces or something minor volume-wise. They are stoneware, not enameled iron like a Dutch Oven. We had a few similar dishes in the past, used more as bowls than cooking vessels.
At the bottom of the page on the Le Creuset site are suggested dishes and a number of recipes.
@Tripolar: Agreed.
Back at the OP: FWIW this thread triggered me using mine to make breakfast a few minutes ago. Partly inspired by the comments at the bottom of that page as @Telemark has just pointed out while I was typing.
Butter each cocotte, then add a slice of baguette, a slice of mozzarella, 2 eggs, some cream, salt, pepper, & oregano. Bake uncovered at 325F until eggs look sorta sunnyside up, about 20 minutes +/-.
Was pretty darn tasty in a genteel way, didn’t stink up the kitchen or mess up the stove like frying does, and created no extra cookware to clean. OTOH, including the oven pre-heat time it was pretty slow for a breakfast.
Next time it’ll have diced onions, peppers, maybe some kalamata olives too.
I like LSLGuy’s breakfast idea. I once had Duck Confit served in a cocotte, it was a very cute presentation.
You aren’t stupid, they didn’t bother to directly list the size and capacity anywhere on the page. I just found the same item on amazon which did list it’s actual dimensions which I used to evaluate it. 
This is my favorite mac & cheese recipe. It’s a casserole but really it’s a stovetop that you just add crumbs to and bake like a casserole.
I usually make it one or two times a year for potlucks. I told my mom I was missing it and wanted to make some for myself. But as you can see it’s like 10,000 calories. She suggested making it in individual servings so I could just have some here or there. I think she’s right!
Try it in your pots (heat with the lid off) and let me know how it goes !
I don’t have any of the mini cocottes but I want to get some after seeing this recipe for flourless chocolate orange cakes in the Staub cookbook (recommended).
I have two of these, and we do eggs en cocotte in them. My favorite is to spray the bottoms with olive oil, lay in a couple slices of proscuitto and then crack two eggs in each (I like to use duck eggs). Sprinkle with salt, cracked pepper and grated cheese. Cover and bake at 325F for about 15 minutes or until the whites are set. Serve with toast or English muffin and fruit.
I should be ashamed!
First, you find a small ceramic bowl with a lid (What this thread is about). Next you throw inside 2 eggs, some milk, some diced onions, some diced ( whatever else you have that’s green and chopped fine ), some red flaked pepper, and some slices of tiny cubes of cheese.
Now, you stir that lot up hard, put the top on it, and nuke it for 4-5 minutes.
While its cooking, you slice a roll of whatever bread you’ve got in half and set out what you’re going to drink.
When the buzzer goes off, you take a butter knife… stick it down the sides in a 360 loop, and drop what you’ve cooked onto a plate.
Some of it you might make a sandwich out of it … and some of it you might eat it with various hot sauces on the plate.
But… you will be well-fed and for a price which is a damn sight less than fast food.
Oh, I almost forgot to post an update. This is my fancy Sunday brunch: Eggs en cocotte (with some diced onion and mushroom in the bottom), English muffins with blackberry jam, and some slices of mango.
Ohhh! I have some English muffins left. I could cook your egg dish, put it in an English muffin, and melt some American cheese on it, and basically have a homemade Egg McMuffin. I just wish I’d picked up some Canadian bacon when I was at the store yesterday. Then it would be a whole international affair.
The egg thing (@WildaBeast that looks delicious), reminded me of one more dish… individual shakshuka!
That looks wonderful.
Or cut the EM down to a size that fills the bottom of the cocotte, and build the rest of the stack on top of the bread. The finished bread will be wet & soft, not toasted and crunchy. But it’s yummy that way.