I love pão de queijo, cheese bread, it was always a special treat when we could get them from the bakery when we lived in Brazil. The ping-pong sized bread balls have a wonderful crunchy crust and a cheesey goey center. What was not to love! It was nearly impossible to eat just one.
After moving to the United States that was one of the foods I missed the most. My mom asked her sisters for their recipes, but up until recently some of the ingredients were hard to find, mainly tapioca flour. Thankfully big bulk stores now carry tapioca flour, so that means they are also GLUTEN FREE!
I tried several recipes; some were super time consuming and overly complicated. While others were sticky and did not have the same texture or flavor. After many trials and errors, I think I have finally cobbled together a decent recipe that is fairly simple.
These usually disappear quickly, I made 16 dozen for our family Christmas get together. Almost all were gone before we started dinner, and by dinner had completely disappeared. My 2 year old helped by eating half a dozen by herself, before we even left for the get together. They are addicting, and it doesn’t help that they are so easy to make!
After making these a few times there are a few important tips and tricks to help.
- Always grease the mini muffin tin. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to eat those yummy puffs, and not being able to get them out.
- The batter has to have a runny consistency, like pancake batter
- If you let the batter sit, it will thicken and you will have to add more water-even if you have already added the “required” amount
- fill only half to 3/4 full
When you are pouring the batter into the mini muffin tins, it is okay if some if it drips. Those drips turn into yummy chip like crackers.
When you take them out of the oven, let the cool but take them out as quickly as you can. You do not want them to cool down completely or else you loose the outside crunchiness.
Ingredients
- Pre Heat oven 400°
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2 cups tapioca flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 oz. (1/2 wheel) Queso Fresco crumbled
Directions
- Place egg, oil, milk, tapioca flpur and salt in a blender/food processor for 1-2 minutes or until evenly combined.
- Add Queso Fresco and pulse until cheese is evenly combined.
- Pour batter into mini muffin tin. (well greased)
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Each batch makes about 8 dozen mini muffins. (Two full sized cookie sheets)
