Perfect for breakfast or lunch, or simply as a quick snack when you are hungry but too busy to cook, these cheese puffs can be frozen, reheated and enjoyed at your convenience. With a pâte a choux dough, you essentially half cook the dough first, by adding flour to boiling water and butter, and stirring like a madman until you have a ball of dough the consistency of play-dough.

Then you mix in eggs and then the dough goes in the oven, where it puffs up as the water in the dough turns to steam and expands into air pockets. These cheese puffs are made with cheddar cheese and a little bit of thyme. You could add crumbled bacon to the mix, or use sage or rosemary.

Ingredients;

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • Freshly ground pepper

Instructions;

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, add the water, butter, and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.
    Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour all at once.
  2. Stir rapidly. The mixture will form a dough ball that will pull away from the sides of the pan.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes. Stir so that the dough cools more evenly.
  4. You want the dough to be warm, just not so hot that when you start adding eggs they cook as they hit the dough.
  5. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until the eggs are incorporated into the dough.
  6. The dough should become rather creamy. Heat oven to 425°F. Spoon out small balls of the dough onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet, with at least an inch separating the spoonfuls.
  7. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes at 425°F. Lower heat to 350°F and cook for another 15-20 minutes, until puffed up and lightly golden.