Dilly Cheese Puffs
By Yankee Magazine|Mar 24 2003|
Serve these quick and tasty cheese puffs hot from the oven or cooled to room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Yield
3 to 5 dozen, depending on size.
Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated Swiss or cheddar cheese
5 large eggs at room temperature
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, salt, pepper, dill, and water. Bring to a boil and stir until the butter melts. Reduce heat to low, and add flour all at once. Cook over low heat, beating constantly with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute, until the pudding-like mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from heat, add cheese to pan, and beat with the wooden spoon until well blended. Add 4 of the eggs, one at a time, beating each into the mixture until well blended. Continue beating until the mixture is shiny and smooth.
Drop batter by half teaspoons (for bite-size puffs) or heaping teaspoons (for larger puffs) onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water and use to brush tops of puffs. Bake in upper third of the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until puffs are doubled in size and golden.
I’ve made this recipe twice, the first time using Swiss and the second using Asiago cheese.
I fill the puffs with a shrimp mousse. For the filling I use a can of tiny shrimp, rinsed and drained. Beat with an electric mixer with 8-ounce softened cream cheese, a dash of garlic salt, a squirt of lemon juice and lightened with mayonaise until fluffy. I used a pastry bag and poked a hole in the side of the puff to fill each one. They were a huge hit.