Spicy Cheddar Cheese Puffs with Harissa Infused Olive Oil

Often during the holidays when you need a break from all the heavy sweets you just crave something savory and light. Especially with all the parties and football games on the calendar, you need appetizers or snacks that are satisfying in flavor, easy to handle and perhaps a little healthier. This recipe was inspired by something we saw from Dash in Parade magazine however we replaced the stick of butter with our organic extra virgin olive oil. Our Harissa olive oil has smoked chili peppers, garlic, caraway, coriander and cumin so you don’t need a long list of ingredients; it’s all infused in the olive oil. Who says you have to wait until January to start eating healthier? We loved these so much that we kept eating them while doing these photographs. Whip up a batch for your next party.  Just make sure you keep an eye on them before the party. They tend to disappear quickly!

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of Olive This! Harissa Olive Oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs plus 1 egg white
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus ½ cup for topping before baking
• 1½ teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds or poppy seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine 1 cup of water and the Harissa EVOO into a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium. Stir the 1 cup of flour into the boiling oil and water mixture.

Stir the flour mixture well to fully combine.

Cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly.

Once cooked, you should be able to shape the dough into a ball. You may also see a film of batter formed on the bottom and sides of the pan. That’s fine, you’ll leave that behind.

Transfer the dough to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse the mixture a few times to cool it off a bit.  Set the food processor to run continuously and add the 4 eggs – one at a time. Finally, add the egg white and process until the batter looks thick and creamy.

Once the batter is resembles thick mustard, add the 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1½ teaspoons of curry powder and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Continue to process until well combined.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag or better yet, do what we did. Use a medium-sized, zipper-locking bag and make a ½-inch diagonal cut off the bottom corner of the bag.

On parchment-lined baking sheets, pipe out about 1 tablespoon of batter to form 48 puffs.

Top the puffs with additional shredded cheddar cheese and the toasted sesame or poppy seeds.

Bake in the 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door, at all. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375 degrees, again without opening the oven, and bake for 10 more minutes.

After the final 10 minutes, remove them from the oven and let cool. But not for too long, have you ever tried a warm crispy cheese puff straight from the oven? We warned you, once you try the harissa-cheddar flavor of these morsels, they will quickly disappear!

MAKES 48 PUFFS

Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.