Three-Cheese Mini Macs

Three-Cheese Mini Macs
Recipe by Grace Parisi

These delicious cheesy bites were the hit of my friend's Birthday dinner on the weekend. The second batch had barely cooled before everyone dug in. You'll love them. Enjoy!

Makes: 48

Ingredients:
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.

2. Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess.

3. In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.

4. Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano on top. The recipe can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated overnight.

5.Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 min­utes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve.

36 comments:

Jacque said...

Oh my goodness! As a person that hasn't eaten any version of mac in cheese in ages, I say these look fantasic! Great idea :)

gaga said...

Mmm, I love this!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A great isea! I bet they taste really good!

Cheers,

Rosa

Emily said...

Oh baby. These look cute and delicious!

Priya Suresh said...

SImply superb...so cute they r!

Donna-FFW said...

I can think of 2 fantastic uses right off the top of my head for these babies!! Appetizers, childrens dinner.. LOVE the idea!

Jamie said...

Brilliant idea! And they look so good! Yum, I could pop a few in my mouth right now!

Darius T. Williams said...

I'm with the masses on this one - love the idea. I wanna see how the finished product looks though - all pretty on the platter.

vanillasugarblog said...

oh yes I love these.
and a friend of mine took them a step further and deep fried them. holy moly!

Debbie said...

Oh they are so cute and look wonderful!

Maria said...

Love the mini macs!

Deeba PAB said...

Aw these are far out Paula...what a swell idea. O boy...wish I'd been there too!

Fearless Kitchen said...

This is absolutely brilliant. It would be a great addition to any party!

Anonymous said...

These are adorable! What a wonderful idea! And so delicious!

Anonymous said...

How perfect! I'm definitely going to use this idea in the future.

veggie belly said...

what a great idea! im going to try this recipe this weekend!

Deborah said...

Everything is always good mini! So cute!

2 Stews said...

Great idea! One problem though...they look so good that each of my kids would want their own muffin tin full ;-)

Creative Classroom Core said...

I am so loving this idea! Such a cute presentation!

I will be bookmarking this to make soon!

Thanks for sharing (and welcome back!)

Alana said...

Great idea and they look incredible!!!

Shelly said...

Very cool idea to serve this! The recipe sounds delicious, too!

imjacobsmom said...

Great idea! I can't wait to try these!

Shelley Kubitz Mahannah said...

Adorable! Perfect for parties!

jillian said...

Yum! These looks delicious!

veggievixen said...

what a great idea to put them in muffin tins! how adorable.

Elin Chia said...

Wow, they look yummilicious...we piggies love anything cheesy. Will want to try this out. Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

Honeyed Hashette said...

these look fanTASTic!
yum!

K said...

Found these on Tastespotting - HOLY SMOKES - these are revolutionary! GREAT idea... I'll be trying this out very soon. Thank you!

Pearl said...

ohhh, looks incredible!

Kathy - Panini Happy said...

It sure was a great week for mac & cheese, wasn't it? (LOL - I posted it too, on the "new blog"). Muffin tins is definitely a great way to go - great for portion control AND for freezing.

jasmine a-go-go said...

i just made these last night with whole wheat macaroni (to not feel so guilty), and in normal muffin tins, and they were STILL fantastic! thanks for the recipe and awesome pics!

Kerstin said...

These look very delicious and comforting - and they are super cute!

amycaseycooks said...

I have made these many times for my clients and they are always a hit.

Who doesn't like mac and cheese and in such a convenient, bite-sized treat?

RecipeGirl said...

I have had a similar recipe for this (from Gourmet, I think) sitting in my appetizers to-try pile for a long time! They look great!

TaGa_Luto said...

This is a great idea, perfect as hors d'oeuvres. I ones tried fried mac n cheese at an Irish restaurant, i tried them at home but never got the chance to blog them. This blog reminded me to blog them soon. I like your site.

Unknown said...

Oh I love this idea! I'm definitely going to try this one. YUM.

 
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