Cheese Balls (Fried Appetizer)

 Cheese Balls 

    This fried Cheese balls recipe comes to us from a 1947 edition of The American Woman's Cook Book.  It's super easy to make.  I started by heating my oil to 375 degrees in a large pan like you'd use to cook noodles, soup or chili, etc. You could use an electric fryer as well and this may even work in an air fryer. That would be interesting to try and see how these turned out using an air fryer. 

    So, all you do is mix your shredded cheese, flour, salt and pepper, fold in 1 stiffly beaten egg white and tada! You are ready to shape balls and drop them into the fryer. I used my regular cookie scoop and it made the perfect sized balls.  Gently drop your cheese balls into the hot oil and cook until they are browned. Flip them at least once to ensure all sides are browned, before removing to drain on a paper towels. They cook very, quickly, so keep an eye on them. I cooked about 4 or 5 at a time and that worked fine for me. 

    I got 12 nice, sized cheese balls with my cookie scoop, which is exactly what the recipe says you'll get. I did have 1 extra ball, which was like the runt of my cheese balls. After I removed the balls to drain/dry on the paper towels which I'd laid in my favorite 13x9 pan, I sprinkled them with a little salt. When I finished frying the balls, I made sure to turn off the oil, because as handsome as some firefighters are, you don't want to have to call the fire department because of a kitchen mishap with your cooking oil. 

    Is there anything I would do different? Yes.  I would either use less salt in the recipe and/or not sprinkle salt on top of the finished balls, because they did taste too salty for me. That is the only thing I would really do different. I dipped some of my cheese balls in La Costena "Ranchera Salsa", which is made with tomatillos and mixed chili peppers. It is really good, and the cheese balls tasted amazing dipped in the salsa.  This recipe makes at least 12 balls, so if you're making them for several people, you'll want to double it. I'm excited about how you could change this up. Use different seasonings instead of salt and pepper. Do Italian seasonings and then dip your finished product in pizza/spaghetti sauce. Love garlic? Use garlic powder. Do you like jalapenos? You could add up to a tablespoon of fresh, finely chopped jalapenos or pickled jalapeno slices.  I'm just guessing, but I think the jalapenos would work as long as you don't add too much. And, how could I forget chipotle? I love chipotle and if you do also, you could put chipotle power in the cheese balls and I bet it would be amazing!!

    As always, if you try this, let me know what you think.