Pao de Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Bread

So yummy.  So easy.  

I recently found out that the cheese bread from Texas de Brazil (TdB) and Fogo de Chao etc. (Brazilian steak houses) is naturally gluten free!  It has been a few years since I last went to TdB but I remember the cheese bread fondly.  

It is made of tapioca flour - not wheat flour.  It is soft, chewy and really good. When I say chewy I mean chewy!  Sort of like fried cheese sticks - chewy in the middle, and crisp on the outside.  

Here is the recipe I used - I modified it from another recipe.  

Pao de Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil or butter 

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp salt

2 cups tapioca flour

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs - beaten

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375.

-Heat butter/oil, water, milk and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Immediately when it comes to a boil remove and stir in flour until smooth.  

-Stir in cheese and egg.  It may be lumpy.  Let rest for 15 minutes.  

-Drop rounded tablespoons sized balls onto ungreased baking sheet. 

-Baked until the tops are lightly browned - about 20-25 minutes.  

Things that worked for me:  I used a mix of butter and olive oil.  

I had a hard time mixing the batter by hand so I stuck it in my Kitchen Aid mixer w/the dough hook - worked like a charm.  

I used my Pampered Chef scoop sprayed with non stick spray to make the balls - it was a perfect tool and made for quick work - you could also use two spoons. 

The original recipe called for much bigger balls/rolls - since I had bite sized rolls at TdB I wanted to recreate that - you could try it bigger if you wanted to - just adjust the cooking time.  

These are great with dinner or would be a nice appetizer alone or w/with a dipping sauce (marinara?)   Also - a purist may disagree - but I would think garlic or herbs would go well with it for something new.

Years ago I tried the frozen ones in a bag but when I checked the package they were made in Brazil and they had Maltodextrin in them - not safe enough for me now.