Cheese Puff Crown Recipes

CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and cayenne to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in Gruyere and mustard. , Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine the flour with the salt, black pepper, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
• Put the milk and butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. When the butter melts, turn heat to low. Add the seasoned flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
• Separate the white and yolk from one egg, reserving the yolk for glazing.
• Put the dough into a large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for one minute. Then beat in one egg and the extra egg white. Beat until completely absorbed into the dough. Then add the remaining 4 eggs, one at a time, waiting each time until the previous egg is completely absorbed. After all 5 eggs (plus the one egg white) have been incorporated, the dough should be smooth and satiny.
• Add the Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses, and pepperoni if you are using it. Incorporate thoroughly into the dough.
• Use a pastry bag to pipe dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. You can also drop dough from a teaspoon. For tiny puffs, mounds should be about 1/2 inch in diameter. From small appetizers, mounds should be 1 inch in diameter. For puffs large enough for filling, mounds should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Keep the size of the puffs uniform so they bake properly. Space puffs about 1 inch apart.
• Beat the remaining egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of milk to make a glaze. Lightly brush the tops of the puffs with glaze before baking. Sprinkle tops with your Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes (5 minutes for tiny puffs). Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Bake 10 minutes more for tiny puffs; 15 to 20 minutes longer for medium or large puffs, or until puffs are golden brown. Test by removing a puff from the oven and breaking it open. The inside should be baked through. If it is still doughy or wet, bake another 5 minutes.
• Remove pans from oven and leave puffs on pans until cool enough to serve.

CHEESECAKE CROWNS

Steps:

• Thaw three puff pastry sheets (save remaining sheet for another use). Unfold pastry; cut each into four squares. Gently press squares into greased jumbo muffin cups, pulling corners up and out of cups; press corners down onto muffin pan. , In a small bowl, combine the flour, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle 1 heaping tablespoonful into each muffin cup. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Spoon into pastry cups., Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until filling is almost set and pastry is golden brown. Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour or until set. , For glaze, in a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough water to achieve a drizzling consistency. Garnish crowns with fresh berries if desired; drizzle with glaze. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHEESE CROWNS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease bottoms and sides of 12 jumbo muffin cups, 3.5 x 1.75 in., or 6-oz custard cups with shortening.
• Place 1 sheet of could puff pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into four squares. Press each square gently into muffin cup, pulling the four corners up and out of cup. Press corners down on muffin pan. Repeat with remaining sheets of puff pastry.
• Mix flour, pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut margarine into the mixture, then put a heaping tablespoon in the bottom of each pastry cup.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 2 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Pour about 1/3 c of the cream cheese mixture into each cup (on top of the pecan mixture).
• Bake 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 5 to 7 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown. Cool 15 mins., then remove from pan. Refrigerate uncovered about 1 hr or until chilled; cover and continue refrigerating no longer than 48 hours.

CHEESE PUFF CROWN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F. In a 2-qt saucepan, bring the water to a boil with the butter and salt. As soon as the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat, pour in all the flour at once and beat it in vigorously. The dough will be lumpy at first but smoothes out rapidly as you beat. As soon as it is blended, return the pan to moderate heat and beat until the dough forms a ball and begins to fill the bottom of the pan. Put the dough into a bowl and stir to cool it, about 30 secs. Make a well in the center of the warm dough and beat in 3/4 c. of the eggs, a quarter cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half of the final quarter cup and test to see if the dough just holds its shape when scooped up on a spoon. Add as much of th final 2 T. as you can without making the dough too loose. Beat in 1 cup of the cheese. On a lightly buttered and floured baking sheet, form a ring by dropping mounds of dough in a circle. Top with the remaining 2 T. grated cheese. Bake until puffed and browned, about 20 mins. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees F and bake until crisp, 10-20 mins longer.