Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

I was cruising around Foodgawker the other day and saw these Cheesy Puffs, I asked my husband if he had them when he was in Brazil and he said YES, that they are wonderful and addictive. He asked me make them for him, and I was happy to do so, who doesn't love cheesy bread?

It is a bit difficult to find Tapioca Flour, but my local Asian Market carried it. I found the original recipe here, but have adapted it a bit for my tastes.

The rolls are nicely crispy on the outside and the inside almost feels like it is still raw, but that is exactly what it is supposed to be like! I thought they were a bit bland even though I added garlic powder, so next time I will also add onion powder and maybe Cayenne pepper and perhaps a sharper cheese.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2/3 cup freshly grated Romano Cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Pour milk, butter and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour and garlic until smooth.

Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese.

Drop rounded balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. I used my 1 inch scooper, so the balls were small.

Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. (I learned the hard way, they will need closer to 25 minutes till browned and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside)

Remove and brush with melted butter if you like (they will loose a bit of the outside crispness if you do)