Bet ya can’t eat just one! A few of these delightful little morsels are a great start to any party. The pastry is impressive but simple, and you can use any of your favorite sausage as filling.
• ½ cup water
• 4 tbsp. butter
• ½ cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. sausage
• ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roll tiny meatballs from the sausage. You will want them to be about the diameter of a quarter. Arrange on a baking sheet and set aside.
In a saucepan, warm the water and butter until butter is melted. When just starting to boil, remove from the heat and add the flour. Put back onto medium heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The pastry will start to pull away from the sides of the saucepan; keep stirring. Be careful not to burn the pastry and stir continuously for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt.
Add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. Do not add additional eggs until the mixture is completely combined! Once all eggs are added and incorporated, fill a pastry bag with a ½ inch hole in the tip.
Pipe small dollops of pastry onto a greased cookie sheet. You will want them to be about the size of half of a golfball. Leave about 2 inches between each puff.
Dipping a finger in water, lightly pat down the points of each puff so that the tops are rounded, like little mushroom caps. Put these and the sausage balls into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, when the puffs are lightly browned on top and the sausage balls are cooked through.
Cool the puffs slightly. To fill them, pull the top gently to create a small hole and put the meatball inside. The top should fit right back on so that you have a sausage filled puff. Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the oven for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and puff is warmed through. Serve immediately!
