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appitizers on a plate

Chipotle cheese bites

Course Appetizer, Entertaining
Cuisine American
Keyword appitizers, bar food, entertaining

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
  • 3 1 ⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1 ⁄4 cups 2 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled, cut into bits
  • 2 1 ⁄2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese. It is all about the flavor so don't skimp.
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Pinch salt
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 ⁄4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs

Filling

  • 1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
  • 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Glaze

  • 1 larger egg
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

  1. Prepare the pastry:
  2. Finely chop the chilis in the food processor. Add the flour, butter, Cheddar, smoked paprika, and salt.
  3. Process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
  4. Add the eggs and process just until the dough comes together. If it is particularly dry weather, you may add a tablespoon of water to help moisten, but no more, the dough will look a little dry but will come together.
  5. Divide the dough into halves and flatten into disks. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
  6. While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling to chill along with the dough.
  7. In a medium bowl, combine together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper pinches.
  8. Thoroughly blend the mixture together.
  9. Cover and chill with the dough.
  10. When you are ready to assemble the pastries:
  11. Line a couple of baking sheets with Silpat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray.
  12. Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl and set aside.
  13. Roll out half of the chilled dough 1/8-inch-thick on a lightly floured surface. Or, if you have space, you can roll out the entire dough first before filling.
  14. With a round cookie cutter about 2 1⁄2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible from the dough. You can reroll the scraps to make more circles. This dough can be somewhat forgiving.
  15. Brush half of the dough circles with the beaten egg mixture.
  16. To make the pasties, put a tablespoon of filling in the center of the remaining dough circles.
  17. Cover each filled circle with a brushed egg circle facing down and seal by pressing the edges together with a fork's times. Try and seal the edges well as they will leak out if not properly sealed.
  18. Place the filled pastries onto the prepared baking sheets spaced 1-2 inches apart.
  19. Repeat with the second half of the dough.
  20. The pastries can then be baked immediately, or at this point, the pastries can be covered and chilled for baking up to a day later. They also freeze beautifully.
  21. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°.
  22. Brush the pastries with more of the beaten egg mixture. If you have waited to bake the pastries, beat another egg with a tablespoon of water and glaze tops at the time of baking.
  23. Bake the pastries in the oven until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Try not to over bake them as they will taste burnt.
  24. Let cool briefly and serve hot.

Recipe Notes

If you have frozen the pastries, take them out and place them back on lined baking sheets. Brush them with egg when you start to preheat the oven. When the oven has pre-heated go ahead and bake them, no need to defrost further. They will take just a few minutes more to bake but keep an eye on them.