Basic Cheese Puffs

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 whole eggs, plus
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon English mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup finely grated well-flavored cheese, such as Cheddar

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the butter, salt and water in a pan. Bring to a boil.

2. 2

   Sift the flour onto a sheet of waxed paper, then, off the heat, add it all to the butter and water mixture and stir it in very quickly to form a thick paste that leaves the sides of the pan clean.

3. 3

   Return the pan to the heat and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for 1 minute to dry it. Remove the pan from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

4. 4

   Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, then add the mustard, cayenne pepper and grated cheese. (I didn't have dry mustard so I used 1 teaspoon grainy, brown mustard. I also used a dash more cayenne for an extra bite.).

5. 5

   Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve cold.