Cheese and Spinach Puffs
Friends and family request that I make these golden brown puffs every year on Christmas Eve. The tasty little treats are so good, you cant help but pop them in your mouth.
Friends and family request that I make these golden brown puffs every year on Christmas Eve. The tasty little treats are so good, you cant help but pop them in your mouth.
- Carbohydrate 21.7222450063238 g
- Cholesterol 502.546250026162 mg
- Fat 55.5363325099374 g
- Fiber 9.81580030460884 g
- Protein 39.2527375008473 g
- Saturated Fat 31.3866900062791 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (552g)
- Sodium 966.422000072795 mg
- Sugar 11.9064447017149 g
- Trans Fat 5.51029750070985 g
- Calories 715 calories
Step-by-step
- Add onion to frozen spinach in saucepan; cook as directed on package. Drain well, pressing out liquid.
- In medium bowl, beat eggs. Add cheese, salad dressing, butter and garlic powder; mix well.
- Stir in spinach mixture and muffin mix. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour or until mixture is easy to handle.
- Butter baking sheets. With tablespoon, shape spinach mixture into 1" balls;arrange on prepared baking sheets.
- Cover; refrigerate or freeze until serving time.
- To serve: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover puffs. Bake refrigerated puffs for 12 to 15 minutes (frozen for 18 to 20 minutes) or until brown.
- Serve warm with mustard for dipping.
Swapping bottled blue cheese dressing for homemade vinaigrette radically alters the fat content, resulting in dense, greasy spheres rather than light, golden puffs. Achieving the ideal texture requires rigorous moisture management. Frozen spinach carries excess water that easily ruins baked goods by preventing the corn muffin mix from setting properly during the bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pressing the cooked spinach in a fine-mesh strainer removes surplus liquid before it interferes with the starches. Resting the formed dough in the refrigerator for one hour firms the butter and solidifies the fats, allowing the shaped portions to hold their spherical geometry on the buttered baking sheets instead of spreading into flat puddles.
The Science of Fat and Binding
Eggs provide the structural protein network necessary to trap expanding gases as the puffs heat in the oven. Incorporating melted butter alongside blue cheese dressing introduces high levels of dairy fat, which shortens gluten strands and keeps the interior tender rather than rubbery. Shifting from frozen spinach to fresh leaves requires wilting, chopping, and thorough squeezing to match the low moisture baseline demanded by the dry corn muffin mix. Without this initial dehydration step, fresh greens release steam internally, creating pockets of sogginess that compromise the outer crust.
Baking Parameters and Timing
Bake times depend directly on the thermal state of the dough prior to entering the oven. Chilled puffs require 12 to 15 minutes of heat exposure to develop a browned exterior, while frozen portions need 18 to 20 minutes to cook through completely without burning the bottom. Storing unbaked portions in the freezer provides a convenient make-ahead option for gatherings, provided the pieces remain covered to prevent freezer burn and surface dehydration.
