Cheese Puffs

Be creative with this recipe. I recently made these with Boar's Head Smoked ButterKase cheese and they were yummy. Butterkase is a semi-soft cheese with a golden natural rind, very popular in Germany and Austria for its creamy texture and buttery like taste.

I've also made these with Gruyere cheese but you can use any cheese that you like.

These are appetizer size puffs but you can make the puffs larger by dropping a 2 or 4 inch mound onto the cookie sheet. The puffs are perfect for parties.

Makes about 40 appetizer size puffs

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ground
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 4 large eggs
  • 8 ounces grated Gruyere cheese, or other cheese like Buttkase (save some for sprinkling the top before baking)

    Instructions:

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

    Combine the flour with the salt, and black pepper, in a large bowl.

    Put the milk, mustard seeds and butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. When the butter melts, turn heat to low. Add the seasoned flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.

    Put the dough into a large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for one minute. Then beat in one egg at a time until all eggs have been incorporated. Beat until completely absorbed into the dough; dough should be smooth and satiny.

    Add the Gruyere cheese. Incorporate thoroughly into the dough.
    Use a pastry bag to pipe dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. You can also drop dough from a teaspoon. For small appetizers, mounds should be 1 inch in diameter

    Sprinkle tops with additional cheese.

    Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F. and bake 15 minutes more or until puffs are golden brown. Test by removing a puff from the oven and breaking it open. The inside should be baked through. If it is still doughy or wet, bake another 5 minutes.

    Remove pans from oven and leave puffs on pans until cool enough to serve