Sweet Chili Cheese Puffs

Friday 11 December 2009



One of the things I like most about the holidays, is the opportunity I have to pull out all the stops, and to create tasty little nibbles for the people we often have come around to the cottage to visit, or for the various parties we get invited out to.



I am really lucky because I work as a chef in a manor house, and so I have lots of practice making these tasty little tidbits throughout the year. I always create at least 3 or 4 different ones for each dinner party I cook for.

I like for each of them to be a work of art, and incredibly tasty.



A delicious little tidbit, that will whet everyone's appetites, and have them really racing in anticipation for the great dinner event to come.



These are one of my more popular little bites. You can fill them with sweet chili sauce as I have done here, or you can fill them with hot pepper jelly.

Or a mixture of both, as I have done here. That tasty combination of sweet, savoury and heat is really quite delicious to say the least!



Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Kinda pretty to look at as well . . . and very cheery with the green and the red colours I have used here. Especially festive, don't you think?



First to disappear off of the nibble trays.



Every
time.

Trust me.



*Sweet Chili Cheese Puffs*
Makes about 3 dozen
Printable Recipe

Short and savoury with a bit of a bite. These will be really popular on your nibble tray!

8 ounces extra strong cheddar cheese, grated
3 to 4 TBS of softened unsalted butter
145g plain flour
sweet hot chili sauce, or hot pepper jelly


Place the cheese, butter and flour in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse several times until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Once this happens, allow the motor to run for 25 to 30 seconds until the dough forms a ball around the blade. Try not to overwork the dough. Remove from the bowl and chill for about 30 minutes, wrapped in cling film.

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.

Pinch off walnut sized balls of the chilled dough and shape into balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place on a large parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly coloured, but NOT browned. Remove from the oven and immediately shape a small depression in the centre of each using the end of the handle of a large wooden spoon. Fill each depression with some chili sauce or hot pepper jelly, if using. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 7 mionutes, until golden browned on the bottoms. Cool slightly before serving.

Hot jelly and sauce can really burn, so be careful.

Stand back and await the applause.

15 comments

  1. Oh, wow! My mouth is just watering, Marie! I love pepper jelly, and these just look so wonderful--I can taste them already! I think I'll be making these for our party on Saturday night--thanks once again for inspiring me!

    P.S. I talked about you quite a bit on my blog tonight...hope you don't mind! Lots of love to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Que rico, parecen donuts pequeños. Gracias por la receta.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These sound so good and I need to take a treat to our ward party tomorrow. How much is 145g of flour? ...I hope I can find sweet chili sauce and pepper jelly in the store tomorrow. I don't remember seeing it. Would the sweet chili sauce be with the bottled salsas and the hot pepper jelly with the regular jellies? Hugs, Lura

    ReplyDelete
  4. They'd be perfect on a finger buffet. Great rceipe, Marie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lura - I think the 145 grams is approximately 1 cup - the sweet chili sauce I think is the Thai kind - located in the oriental food section. Marie, hope you don't mind me hopping in here. These look fabulous! Much love - Raquel XO

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks sooo good and beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Marie these are sooooo cute and look really nice!!I love them
    Dear I hope you and Todd have a nice weekend and rest a a while, send you huggs and kissess. Love ya!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello darling! Just found you from dear Julie's blog and yay! What a dream place to be inspired to make delicious things! I look forward to catching up. Blessings from Amy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Marie these are a wonderful idea, I have never seen anything like these before. I must give these a whirl. Lucie x

    ReplyDelete
  10. These look sooo good... and so pretty, the chili so jewel-bright! I could eat 10 of these in one go... LOL! Happy weekend, dear Marie--LOVE YA :o) ((BIG HUGS))

    ReplyDelete
  11. Raquel- thanks so much for jumping in for Marie. My hubby is at the market shopping for me right now. He just called asking where to find the sweet chili sauce. I jumped on this blog and found your answer right off. Thanks...Wish me luck. I am making these for our church party tonight. Have a great day Marie and all. Hugs, Lura

    ReplyDelete
  12. How interesting! They look like they should be sweet things, but are not. Sweet Chilli sauce is my favourite not sure about where I get the pepper jelly though.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oooh now they look good - I love sweet chilli.
    PS: Marie I really need a recipe for the bestest fruit cake ever and I just know you will have one!
    It's not for me but for a friend that wants one. Please can you send me a link or the recipe via Facebook email?
    Thanks in advance xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. How absolutely wonderful! I can't wait to try them!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you so do not be shy!


BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT OR RATING, ASK YOURSELF:
Did you make the recipe as directed? Recipe results are not guaranteed when changes have been made.

Is this comment helpful to other readers? Rude or hateful comments will not be approved. Remember that this website is run by a real person.

Are you here to complain about ads? Please keep in mind that I develop these recipes and provide them to you for free. Advertising helps to defray my cost of doing so, and allows me to continue to post regular fresh content.

Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate you!