Monday, February 9, 2009

White Cheddar Puffs with Scallions

These little puffs are what I served with the orzo soup from yesterday. Back when we had our holiday gift exchange, I ended up (won?) with a copy of the new Bon Appetit cookbook. Little did I know at the time, but the book was bought by Raulito who I now think purchased this book with me in mind...right, Raul? The book is massive with lots of great sounding recipes, but the one downfall is that the pictures are few and far between. As I think I have mentioned before, I benefit more from books where there are pictures on every page. No matter, this is one of the first recipes that called to me. I had plenty of white cheddar left from the mini burgers and I always have scallions on hand. I have only done a cooked dough like this one other time when I made zeppole (pre-food blogging), but it's pretty easy. I used my stand mixer, but it would be done just as easily with a hand mixer or with a whisk. Another good thing is that the dough can be done ahead of time and be refrigerated or frozen until you are ready to bake them. This is a deliciously simple recipe. The puffs are best when warm with a little bite from the onion and a lovely melted cheesy interior. I had an embarrassing number of these before the soup was even done. I will definitely make these again and I am thinking of some kind of sun dried tomato hummus or spread to go between them...


Did you watch the Grammys? Congratulations are in order to the "Best New Artist" and "Best Pop Vocals". The show was laughably horrible as I Twittered about, but her performance (minus Sugarland) and her awards were pretty much the highlight.

White Cheddar Puffs with Green Onions
(Adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh)

Makes about 18 puffs

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (packed) extra-sharp white cheddar
1/3 cup green onions, minced

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring the water, butter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove from heat; mix in flour. Stir over medium heat until the mixture becomes slightly shiny and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a sticky dough. Mix in the cheese and green onions.

Using two teaspoons, form the dough into 1-1 1/4 inch ovals. Drop onto baking sheet 1 inch apart.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake cheese puffs until golden, about 30 minutes if using room temperature dough and 35 minutes if the dough is chilled or frozen. Serve immediately.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

17 comments:

Netts Nook said...

They look great I can't wait to try. Thanks for sharing you recipe.

Diana said...

Those look so delicious! I am definitely putting this down on my recipe "to do" list.

I didn't watch the Grammy's, but did hear about Adele's win -- so great! And very much deserved. :)

veggie belly said...

I have to try these! They look delicate and yummy!

Anonymous said...

The puffs look great. I usually like the recipes from Bon Appetit. I get the magazine but I haven't bought the cookbooks yet.

Unknown said...

yumm, and to think you could have them warm whenever you wanted... fantastic!

Anonymous said...

These look so yummy! Seriously considering stepping away from the computer and making them right now. At a minimum I'll be making them in the next week. Love that you always have scallions on hand - that's a great idea! :-)

vanillasugarblog said...

Oh I would love to make these little gems! Very nice Esi.

Hayley said...

These look wonderful, and perfect with a bowl of soup.

I watched the Grammy's too, but what was with Katy Perry? Her performace was so awkward - walking around the stage with her eyes really wide?

The Blonde Duck said...

That looks so cool!

I moved! Come visit me at www.aduckinherpond.com.

Jessica604 said...

These look like....they want to be in my tummy! haha

I love cheese and I love puffs. Something tells me that I have to make these soon!

Erica said...

I bet those puffs were amazing with that soup- YUM! I am the same way with cook books- I want a picture with EVERY recipe. Hope you had a wonderful weekend :)

Reeni said...

They look melt-in-your-mouth wonderful! I like pictures too! Cookbooks without them aren't as interesting anymore.

Kana said...

This would make soups a bit heartier.

Dee said...

Yummy! I bet the scallions really upped the flavour a notch and some. I've been meaning to make some of these gourgere-whatsits for the longest time so will let you know how these turn out.

test it comm said...

Those cheese puffs look nice and light and good!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Gorgeous little gougeres!

Andrea said...

These look so good! I love the flavor combination, and I'm glad you're the one who ended up with the cookbook! By the way, I had my sister look through dishing up delights and she loves it too!