Holiday Cheese Puffs
We love these Holiday Cheese Puffs as a quirky appetizer that’s a fun alternative to cheese twists.
By Amy Traverso|Dec 23 2021|
In the 1960s and ’70s, we ran reader-submitted recipes in a regular column titled “My Favorite Recipe.” Some dishes (Kidney Bean Relish, Liver & Rice Casserole) are best left to memory, but Holiday Cheese Puffs — a quirky appetizer from December 1974 — caught our eye. The cheese sauce is leavened with egg white so that it toasts up, a bit soufflé-like, on rounds of French bread. A fun alternative to cheese twists.
Yield:
about 30 pieces
Total Time:
45 minutes minutesHands-on Time:
30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
3 ounces cream cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
2 egg whites, beaten to firm peaks
1 baguette, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 clove garlic, halved
Garnish: about 30 small sage leaves
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Set a double boiler over a pot of simmering water. Add the cheddar, cream cheese, and butter, and melt, whisking continuously until creamy. Remove the bowl from the heat and let it sit 5 minutes to cool. Now fold in the egg whites in two batches. Rub one side of each bread slice with the halved garlic. Dip one side of each bread slice into the cheese mixture. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, coated side up. Press a sage leaf into the center of each slice.
Bake until puffy and browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This recipe calls for halved garlic, is it supposed to go in with the cheese and be fished out, or rub the bread slices with it?
Thank you!
Hi Rachel-
Thanks for pointing that out! Rub one side of each bread slice with the halved garlic clove. I’ve updated the recipe above…
I saw this recipe a few days ago, and happened to have some egg whites in the fridge. I made them with little time to get to the garden to harvest fresh sage, so I added a sprinkle of hot pepper. We also enjoy garlic, so I simply crushed the garlic into the cheese mixture. We made a small number of cheese puffs for Christmas eve and they were good, even though I sliced the bread too thickly. We put the leftover cheese mixture into the fridge and used the rest of the baguette and cheese mix the next day when a couple of friends came for Christmas dinner. They were even better with the bread sliced thinly. I will definitely remember this recipe when I have egg whites on hand!