These delightful and delicious savoury mini cheese muffins are flavoured with cheddar cheese, dried herbs and a few spices. The mini size is great for mini snacks or small punches of flavour added to the lunch box.
This year I would like to publish more savoury recipes here on Salty Ginger. On my to-bake list were cheese puffs, which are basically small cheese muffins.
The original recipe that this one is based on was published in the Kei Road Women's Association Centenary Recipe Book. I played around with the ratio of ingredients, changed a few and decided these cheese puffs needed some dried herbs and spices.
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What You Need for this Recipe
Equipment
This recipe requires a mixing bowl, spoons, and a mini muffin or patty pan tin.
Ingredients
- Cheddar Cheese or Tasty Cheese
- Flour
- Egg
- Milk
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Herbs and Spices
Substitutions/Variations
The original mini cheese muffin or cheese puff recipe that this one is based on did not contain herbs or spices, only salt. If you have any picky eaters in the family or would like to omit one or more of the spices or herbs, these muffins taste just as great as plain cheese muffins.
Here in New Zealand, the basic cheddar is called Tasty cheddar which is great cheddar cheese, has a great flavour profile. Cheddar cheese can be replaced with a mature cheddar that would pump up the flavour to another level that I fully endorse. Or a milder cheese for those sensitive to strong flavours.
Whole or full-cream milk can be substituted with skim or trim milk. If using plant-based milk - I would stick to soy milk.
Olive oil can be substituted out with another natural oil.
Plain/all-purpose/standard grade flour can be substituted on a 1-to-1 basis for recipes that have ½ to 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 125 grams/1 cups of flour. If the recipe requires more than 1 teaspoon per cup, simply add the extra baking powder to the recipe to make up the difference. Self-raising/rising flours may already contain salt so this may need to be omitted from the recipe as well.
Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.
Making Mini Cheese Muffins
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted, and grease mini muffin or patty pan.
Step 2 - whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, herbs and spices. Add the grated cheese and stir through to coat with flour.
Step 3 - Beat together the egg and olive oil with a fork and add to the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, and mix until just combined.
Step 4 - portion out the muffin batter into the cups of the muffin tin. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.
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Pro Tips for this Recipe
The secret to moist, tender muffins is mixing until the ingredients are just combined and making sure to take the muffins out of the oven as soon as they are baked.
Do not overmix the muffin batter, using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined and no more!
Fan-forced or fan-assisted oven temperature must be decreased by 20°C/25F. Use an oven thermometer to determine the accuracy of your oven dial.
Storage and Freezing
If you haven't eaten these muffins the moment they come out of the oven, and you have some left for storage you can place them in an airtight container at room temperature for two days. If you stick them in the fridge, you can store them for a week.
Mini Cheese Muffins FAQ
If you haven't eaten these muffins the moment they come out of the oven, and you have some left for storage you can place them in an airtight container at room temperature for two days.
Olive oil goes
Yes - this mini cheese muffin recipe contains olive oil as the added fat which really compliments the savoury nature of the muffin.
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Mini Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 180 grams all-purpose flour
- 120 grams grated cheddar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano or sweet basil
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 large egg
- 15 grams olive oil
- 180 ml/grams milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted, and grease mini muffin or patty pan.
- whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, herbs and spices. Add the grated cheese and stir through to coat with flour.
- Beat together the egg and olive oil with a fork and add to the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, and mix until just combined.
- Portion out the muffin batter into the cups of the muffin tin. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wired cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly.
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