Brazillian Cheese Bread aka Pao

This is not so much of a plannedover, but then again it most certainly can be as it is a great way to use up those odds and ends of cheese loitering in your deli drawer.  I fell in absolute love with these delights 11 years ago upon my first visit to Brazil.  Typically eaten with a cafezinho in the morning, the magnificent flavor and uniquely chewy texture of these little bites can be positively addicting.  I, of course, wanted to be able to make them the minute I landed back in the good old US of A and at that time it proved rather difficult, although not impossible.  Now, with the gluten free movement becoming so humongous recipes, mixes and even frozen product are readily available and easy to use, and typically I make these using a mix called Chebe.  If you have been reading for awhile, I am sure it will come as absolutely no surprise that I increase the amount of cheese by two, because as we all know, you can never really have enough cheese.

The other day, I had a hankering for some of these delicious morsels and headed straight into the pantry to grab a packet of mix to get to making, and alas, there was none.  There was however a package of tapioca flour from my hugely misguided attempt at making noodles after returning from China.  Epic failure.  So, like everyone on the planet who needs something, I turned to Google.  I don’t think that I have Googled a recipe for Pao de queijo for 8 years and what I came across was an entirely new and very easy method using a blender and a mini-muffin plan.  I found this same method across MANY sites, all highly rated, so I decided to give it a whirl - pun intended.

The result was kind of a hybrid product, a cross between a popover and a pao de queijo. The stem being light and airy and the “muffin top” carrying the characteristic chew I so love. Make up a batch and see if you don't devour the entire batch!

Pao de queijo