Months ago I did a recipe for cheese wafers and so many parents emailed me afterwards to say they were a total hit. While testing recipes the other day, I was thinking about how much kids love cheese and bread (I mean, what’s not to love) and I thought it would be fun to try making my own cheese puffs. I can’t tell you how many of these we ate the day we made them. They seemed to just go from oven to mouth! I won’t say this is the most nutritious weelicious recipe of all time, but it you’re craving something cheesy, at least these puffs aren’t loaded with all the fillers and preservatives you’ll find in store bought brands.

In France, cheese puffs go by the fancier name of gougeres, but no matter what you decide to call them, they’re delicious.

Cheese Puffs (Makes 30-40 Puffs)

1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese or Gruyere, shredded
1/4 Cup Parmesan
5 Large Eggs

Egg Wash

1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Water

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a pot and cook over low heat until the milk is warm to the touch (about 2 minutes).
3. Add the flour to the pot and continuously stir with a wooden spoon or a spatula until the mixture is thoroughly combined –about 3 minutes (the mixture will turn from white to a golden yellow and form into a dough and starts to pull away from the pot).
4. Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the cheese and blend until cheese melts and is combined.
5. Add 5 large eggs, one at a time until the dough is smooth and thick.
6. Scoop out 1 tbsp of the dough and drop on to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet (The dough will be runny, do not worry, they will puff up in the oven).
7. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a bowl and brush the cheese puffs just to coat (this is not a necessary step, it just makes the puffs shiny).
8. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
9. Cool and serve.

Recently, my mother-in-law, also known as Viv, was at the Larchmont Farmer’s Market here in LA, and couldn’t resist buying us a box of 5 large cheese crackers (yummy, yes, but at $8 they were no bargain). When she gave them to us I told her they were known in Italy as frico. What is a frico you may ask? Basically, it’s grated parmesean cheese baked on a cookie sheet which melts in the oven and then cools to become crispy, light “crackers”. The best part is that it only takes minutes to whip up and kids LOVE it!

There are a lot of fun ways to serve frico. While it’s still warm you can mold the pieces into all kinds of shapes. You can drape them over the bottom of a bowl until they firm up into little cups and then fill them with grapes or olives; fold them over a rolling pin and put strawberries inside; roll them into a tuille or let them cool flat and place on a bowl of soup or eat them just as they are. No matter what you decide to do, they’re fun to make with kids and even better to eat!

Cheese Crisps (aka Frico)

1 Wedge Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Shred the parmesan wedge on the large wholes of a box grater.
3. Place 2 tbsp of the shredded cheese on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet and flatten the cheese with your finger tips into a 3 inch circle.
4. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
5. As soon as they come out of the oven remove with a thin spatula to an upside down cup or ramekin. You could also roll them into tuille or lay over a rolling pin.
6. Fill the cheese cups with your little ones favorite fruit, olives, nuts, salad or just munch away as they are!

We used these to make this recipe:

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

Oxo Good Grips Box Grater