Mini Mac N Cheese Muffins Recipe 45

MAC AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Grease a nonstick mini muffin pan very well with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, then cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package says. My elbow macaroni said to cook for 7 minutes, so I drained it after 5.
• After you've cooked and drained the pasta, return the empty pasta pot to the heat and turn the heat down to medium. Melt the butter and add the paprika. Add the flour and stir the mixture around for 2 minutes. While whisking, add the milk. The mixture will be very thick, but that's intentional. Just make sure you have stirred out any lumps. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheeses and drained pasta, stirring it all together until the cheese and sauce are well distributed.
• Portion your mac and cheese into the muffin cups, either with a spoon or a 3-tbsp cookie scoop. Pack the mac and cheese into the muffin cups with your fingers really well. If you don't pack the mac and cheese down, they won't hold their shape when you take them out after baking, and you don't want them to fall apart.
• Bake the mac and cheese cups for 15 minutes, until bubbling and gooey. Remove them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes, then carefully run a plastic knife or toothpick (assuming you need to not destroy the nonstick coating on your pan) around the edges to loosen. Remove the mac and cheese cups from the pan and garnish with chopped chives or scallion greens. Enjoy!

MAKE-AHEAD MUFFIN TIN MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Generously butter cups of muffin pan. Set aside.
• Cook macaroni in salted boiling water for 7 minutes. Drain in colander. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
• Add butter and cream cheese to hot macaroni. Stir to melt butter and cream cheese and evenly coat macaroni.
• Add milk and egg; stir to evenly coat macaroni.
• Add dry mustard, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; stir to combine.
• Add 1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese and 1-1/2 cups Fontina cheese; stir to combine.
• Spoon macaroni mixture into muffin pan. Top with reserved cheddar cheese and Fontina cheese.
• Mix Panko bread crumbs with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Panko bread crumb mixture on top of macaroni cups.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and bubbly, and macaroni is set.
• Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to continue cooling.
• May be served hot or cold, refrigerated and reheated, or frozen and reheated.
• Yield: 12 Make Ahead Muffin Tin Mac & Cheese.

MINI MAC & CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs into 36 greased mini-muffin cups. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese until melted., Remove from heat; stir in biscuit mix, eggs and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Add macaroni; toss to coat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons macaroni mixture into prepared mini-muffin cups; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bread crumbs., Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 5 minutes before serving.

MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the panko mix: Mix the panko, Parmesan, olive oil and garlic together and set aside.
• For the mac and cheese: Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In the meantime, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to low and add the Worcestershire and salt to taste. Slowly fold in the Gruyere, Cheddar and goat cheese and heat through until all the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Fold the cooked macaroni into the cheese mixture.
• Spray mini-muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the panko mix. Put the muffin pans in the oven and bake until the panko is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the pans and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Carefully fill the cups the rest of the way with the mac and cheese, packing tightly. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with the panko mix and continue baking until the tops are golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Let the muffins cool before removing them from the pan. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese and panko mixture.

MINI MAC 'N CHEESE MUFFINS RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray 8 cups of your muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the crushed Ritz crackers, 1 cup of the shredded white cheddar cheese, and the melted butter, mixing well until the mixture holds together and resembles coarse sand. Divide the mixture among the 8 muffin cups and, using your fingers or the back of a spoon, firmly press the crust into the bottoms and up the sides of each muffin cup. In another large bowl, combine the cooked (and still hot!) macaroni with 1/2 cup of the shredded white cheddar, the Boursin cheese, and the butter, mixing well. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, and red pepper flakes, mixing well. Add the egg/milk mixture to the cooked macaroni, mixing until all the ingredients are melted and smooth. Place about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the macaroni mixture into each muffin cup (you will probably have a little leftover macaroni-I did. Save this and bake it separately, if desired.) Top each muffin cup with the remaining white cheddar. Bake the mac and cheese pies until lightly golden on top, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from the muffin pan, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

EASY MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, olive oil and salt; set aside.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for about 8 minutes, it should still be a little bit firm. Remove from the heat, drain and return to the pan; stir in the butter and egg until pasta is evenly coated. Reserve 1/2 cup of sharp Cheddar cheese and stir the remaining Cheddar cheese, milk and mozzarella cheese into the pasta. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and the bread crumb mixture over the tops.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the topping is nicely browned. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. This will allow the cheese to set and they will hold their muffin shape.