Homemade Puffs: The Easy, Healthy, and Cheesy Recipe
The puffs are an icon of comfort food: those crescent-shaped bundles with a cheesy heart that please both adults and children. Although they were born as an industrial product, today’s trend is a return to authenticity. Making homemade puffs is not only fun and incredibly easy, but it also allows you to use fresh ingredients and customize the filling according to your tastes.
Why make Puffs at home?
Often at the supermarket, we don’t find our favorite variant or we’re looking for a product with fewer preservatives. Making them yourself is the winning choice for using more genuine ingredients. The base is a derivative of choux pastry made from flour, butter, and water that is prepared in just a few minutes.
In this version, I chose an irresistible combination of spinach, asiago, and robiola. A lighter and more refined variant compared to the classic mix of béchamel and mozzarella.
They are perfect as a vegetarian-style main course, but also as a delightful street food or finger food for an informal aperitif with friends.
Keyword is Creativity in the Kitchen: Create Your Ideal Puff
Once you have learned the basic technique for the dough, you can unleash your creativity with the most imaginative toppings, from the classic tomato and mozzarella base to the boscaiola with champignon mushrooms and fontina. And again, a savory taste with cooked ham and spreadable cheese. Try them, because with this recipe you’ll please everyone!
Other ideas for tasty recipes suitable for a buffet that might interest you:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 9 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while at no additional cost to you!
- 1 cup type 1 flour (or all-purpose flour)
- cup milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- tsp salt
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 2 oz robiola
- 2 oz asiago (or pizza mozzarella)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 egg (large or 2 small)
- 1 tbsp milk (+ as needed)
- to taste breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Small Pot
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Pan
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Scissors
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Cookie Cutter
- 1 Cling Film
- 1 Brush
- 1 Fork
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Parchment Paper
Steps
To prepare the puffs, start with the filling. After washing the baby spinach under running water, let them wilt for 5 minutes in a pan with a clove of garlic and two rounds of oil.
Season with salt, turn off the heat, let them cool slightly, and squeeze them very well.
In a separate pot, melt the butter with the milk over low heat.
Once melted, add the flour gradually and the salt, and using a wooden ladle, start mixing vigorously to absorb the liquid ingredients.
After a few minutes, the mixture will begin to detach from the sides of the pot and become compact.
Transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and let it cool slightly.
Once cool, work the mixture until you obtain a firm and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
After this time, always on the floured surface, roll out a sheet with a thickness of 3-4 mm with the help of a rolling pin.
Cut out discs with a diameter of 4 inches using a pastry cutter or a cup of the same diameter.
It is important that the discs are thin to allow for uniform and adequate cooking.
Mix the well-squeezed spinach with the robiola and asiago cut into cubes, then fill each dough disc with a teaspoon of this mixture and lightly brush the edges with a little milk.
Close it over itself forming a half-moon.
Seal the edges with the tines of a fork and continue until all ingredients are used.
Then pass the puffs first in a beaten egg with a little milk and a pinch of salt.
Subsequently in the breadcrumbs*.
Place the puffs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper** and drizzle the surface with a round of oil.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 20 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden.
And voilà… the homemade spinach and robiola puffs are ready to be enjoyed.
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can store the homemade puffs in the fridge in appropriate containers for refrigeration for a maximum of 1-2 days. When consuming, reheat them for a couple of minutes in the microwave or in a preheated oven. You can also freeze them raw, already breaded; when needed, cook them directly from frozen, adding just a couple of minutes to the cooking time.
Tips, Notes, Variations, and Suggestions
🟣 * For the breading, you can also use herb-flavored breadcrumbs like I did for a more tantalizing version.
🟣** For those who love indulgence, you can fry the homemade puffs instead of baking them. In this case, use plenty of frying oil or cook in an air fryer at 356°F for 8-10 minutes.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. How to achieve a crispy breading without frying?
For light but crispy puffs, use quality breadcrumbs (perhaps mixed with a bit of cornmeal) and spray a little oil before baking.
2. The dough breaks during closure: what to do?
The secret to homemade puff dough is to work it while it’s still warm. If you let it cool too much, it will lose elasticity.
