Chef John’s Party Cheese Puffs

  4.2 – 42 reviews  

This mango has a tropical flavor. Key lime cheesecake has two delicious layers, a ginger-coconut crust, and a fresh mango coulis on top. For the cheesecake topping, I like to prepare coconut cream by mixing coconut essence with whipped cream. For added taste, top with a dab of whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Additional Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  1. ½ cup water
  2. ¼ cup butter
  3. 1 pinch salt
  4. ½ cup flour
  5. 2 large eggs
  6. 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  7. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  8. ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
  2. Stir water, butter, and salt together in a pot; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and whisk flour into butter mixture until a paste-like dough forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl to cool until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
  3. Whisk 1 egg, thyme, and black pepper into cooled dough until egg is completely incorporated. Add remaining egg and whisk until completely incorporated into dough. Stir 3/4 the cheese into dough until combined. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet. Top each with remaining cheese.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and puffed, 15 to 20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 84 kcal
Carbohydrate 4 g
Cholesterol 46 mg
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Protein 3 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Sodium 82 mg
Sugars 0 g
Fat 6 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

David Evans
Easy and fast; puffed up nice. I think I left them in oven a bit too long so keep and eye on them. Popped them open and added a little soft goat cheese with small Granny Smith apple slice. Delicious
Aaron Garcia
We love these cheese puffs! Fill them with chicken salad and watch them disappear.
Diane Hensley
Pretty good. Zero complaints.
Shawn Brown
It was so easy to make these and they were a hit! I sprinkled them with some garlic salt and served them with marinara. Everyone loved them!
Lisa Wade
I made mine per the recipe and they turned out great. Kind of a bland taste and not cheesy at all. I decided to make some chicken and tuna salad to stuff them with and they are great.
Lisa Lee
It was great, except the amount of black pepper is extreme. For my second batch I used one quarter teaspoon and still tasted plenty of pepper. I used half thyme and half dill weed as a substitution, only because I love dill weed.
Elizabeth Taylor
The taste is a little weird, and I was worried I made the dough too…well..dough like, not paste-y as the recipe says, so I put water while mixing the eggs. But I didn’t have any sharp cheddar so I used mexican style blend cheese, which is what I had, it still worked out. Though it’s not as fluffy as I thought it would be either, its a bit dense. I might have to tone the thyme down though, cause it’s really strong in my opinion. But it smelled soooo good when it was in the oven ?? Will try next time with a little less thyme or add some other ingredients.
Jaclyn Reed
These never last long when I make them and always have to make a second batch.
Troy Johnson
Just LOVE these! Made them once as is, and ate them with every meal. I made them a second time, without Thyme; that was great! I made them a third time with more Thyme and Garlic added, that was SUPERB! This little recipe is so versatile and perfect for every meal, I recommend trying it and experimenting with it, you can’t go wrong!
Mary Rosario
I made it. Next time I will add more cheese and more salt. Also I used gluten free flour and they were a hit.
Heather Christensen
We made these for Christmas Eve. I was a little nervous since others had theirs deflate, but ours puffed nicely. I used Gruyere, and it didn’t stand up well to the pepper. They had a nice peppery bite to them, but we couldn’t really taste the cheese. If we make them again, we will try less pepper and more thyme.
James Clark
I followed the recipe using my homemade cheddar cheese. I did pipe the dough rather than scoop it. They were so delicious Hubby and I ate them in one sitting. Next time I’ll double the recipe!
Wyatt Simmons DDS
Tasty and a fun appetizer for a party. I’ll try again and make them a bit smaller and more bite sized.
Cathy Clark DDS
I had a good feeling about this, so doubled it straight off… It tastes great!! The rising up part was a bit hit and miss, but who cares… We love them:-)
Laura Salazar
Made this per the recipe, perfect rise, no flattenage (perhaps a Chef John term) but flavor was a bit ho-hum — for that I fault the cheese. I used what was marketed as sharp cheddar, but a pre-taste didn’t come off a particularly sharp. I’ll try perhaps Parmesan with garnish of cheddar next time. This recipe begs for stuffing.
Colleen Weber
These are super easy and tasty. The flavor doesn’t blow my socks off but they are good enough to want to try some tweaking of the cheese to find the flavor I want. Definitely a good, reliable recipe though.
Jerry Carroll
I have made these two times with the same result. they lay out flat much like a cookie, not a hollow ball? I did cook them on parchment paper the first time. Second time I pre-heated the pan, then placed them on the hot cookie sheet, same result. Great flavor!!!!! No hollow ball. What am I missing?
Victor Lam
I think this is the same recipe I used and filled them with chicken , tuna and shrimp salad as small sandwiches. As a puff pastry with just the cheese and herbs I think I need to try a different cheese, I used a bagged cheddar that was already shredded. I really believe the cheese is the key. I love the recipe and will use it again.
Cindy Torres
Never disappointed with Chef John’s recipes!! These are amazing!!
David Reed
Mine were puffy in the oven but fell immediately upon taking them out
Stephanie Stout
I’m going to make these in a few weeks. I am a total goat cheese and blue cheese fanatic. I think I will make them according to the recipe then fill them with either softened goat cheese or fill with a mixture of blue cheese and elderberry jam. Those will be the bomdiggity!

 

Leave a Comment