If I could be any cartoon character in the world, I'd probably be South Park's Eric Cartman. Kid is legendary, the most epic ever. Between his cute little round body and his high pitched squeaky voice, I can laugh just looking at him live his life. Cartman loves his cheesy poofs and I love Cartman, so these little pillows of heaven are in honor of him.
Besides for the fact these cheesy poofs are the most addicting ever, they make sitting on the couch watching tv that much more fun! Popping these little bad boys into our mouths while watching HGTV (we're obsessed with this channel) has turned into our ultimate guilty pleasure. We allow ourself to be silly and make foods that make us laugh or bring up happy time! You're never too old to be silly. Silly is fun and fun leads to laughter and laughter is life's best medicine.
I first learned how to make the pate a choux dough, the base of the cheesy poofs in culinary school. However, we turned them into profiteroles, a sweet dessert, by filling them with pastry creme. I'm more of a salty lover than sweet, so I stick to adding the good stuff, cheese! If gruyere isn't your thing, you can also substitute cheddar instead!
Here we go. Let's make Cartman proud and pop these babies out! First, you want to Preheat your oven to 375F degrees. The prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Here are all the ingredients you will need.
In a small saucepan, add the milk, water, butter, salt, pepper and dry mustard powder, bring to a roiling boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to come together. The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes.
Return the pan to low heat to dry out the dough, until the mixture pulls away from the side of the pan, about 3-5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl on your kitchen aide with a paddle attachment. If you don't have a kitchen aide, you can also use a hand mixer. Beat the mixture on high-speed for one minute. Add the 4 eggs in, 1 at a time, until absorbed, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if you need to. Batter should be smooth and stiff enough to be scooped into balls. Beat in the cheese. Remember you can also use cheddar cheese, if Gruyere doesn't suit you.
Use a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scooper, to scoop the dough into balls, 1-inch apart, onto the parchment lined baking sheets. I like to use the ice cream scooper because its easy to make all the poofs the same size!
Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through (if one is on the top rack of the oven, switch it with the one on the bottom), until puffed, golden brown, and fluffy. Your entire kitchen will begin to smell like delicious clouds of melted cheese. You can thank me later!
Cheesy Poofs
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 35- 40 Cheesy poofs
Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cup Gruyere Cheese (about 8 ounces), coarsely grated (Substitute: Cheddar)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375'F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan, add the milk, water, butter, salt, pepper and dry mustard powder, bring to a boil. Off the heat, add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to come together. Return to low heat and dry out the dough, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about 3-5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl on stand mixer with a paddle attachment ( you can also use a hand-mixer). Beat the mixture on high-speed for one minute. Add the 4 eggs in, 1 at a time, until absorbed, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed. Batter should be smooth and stiff enough to be scooped into balls. Beat in the cheese.
Using a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scooper, scoop the dough into balls, 1-inch apart, onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through, until puffed, golden brown, and fluffy.
Storage: Keep Cheesy Poofs in a sealable plastic bag for up to 2 days in the fridge or freeze them for 1 week. Reheat at 350F degrees for 10 minutes if chilled or 15 minutes if frozen.
- TheWholeELchilada