I’ve partnered with Price*s® to bring you this delicious snack idea, but all opinions are my own!
Bring on the (pimento) cheese, please! Pimento cheese gets two makeovers with an uber easy, yet very indulgent macaroni and cheese and a little more upscale with gougères to make your mouth water.
Pimento cheese is often heralded as a Southern staple much like pecan pie or sweet potatoes. Almost like a rite of passage of any proper Southern child, the first time biting into a pimento cheese sandwich gives you a sinfully simple taste of what can be like, if you let it…creamy, cheesy and with just the right amount of bite.
We’ll get ready for this bite…wealthy New Yorkers in the first part of the 20th century actually created pimento cheese! WHAT?!? It’s true, at least that’s the story. But thankfully, like most things in the South, we’ve given it our own spin and made it better to what the modern pimento cheese recipe we’ve all come to know and love.
No, not the one your grandma makes… or your mama makes… It’s the one found in every container of Price*s® Pimento Cheese. Like a long-time best friend, Price*s® is always there in the refrigerated section at most Walmart stores near the cream cheese ready to be there for you through thick and thin. But this holiday, this stand-by comes with extra-reinforcements with its new Southern-Style Original and Spicy Jalapeno. Two new tastes ready to assist at the unexpected ring of unexpected guests at the doorbell or when you need a new twist to your own menu.
Macaroni and cheese is a staple in our home with two kids, so while ‘macncheese’ is often on the menu, I don’t always want to create an entire batch for dinner or would love to add a little kick in it for my own sake. This is where Price*s Southern Style pimento cheese can be your new bestie. With just about 1 c. boiled elbow noodles, a few tablespoons of milk, a big spoonful (1/4 cup) of Price*s,and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs under the broiler, you have yourself a recipe for mac n cheese that will have them asking for seconds. I highly suggest using the jalapeno blend for just the right kick to take your MAC go to the next level. AND it’s only four ingredients…unless you go even bigger with a crumbled bacon. Then you can call it Merry Mac n Cheese!
One of my favorite parts of the holidays are a reason to make hors d’oeuvres a meal. Eating a little bite of everything makes me pleased as pie, especially when it’s something with cheese. Something bite sized, creamy and leaving you wanting to more is normally my joie de vivre (French for “joy in life”), so Price*s® was right at home in my recipes for gougères.
Sounds fancy, right? It is. But making it wasn’t by using Price*s®. Let’s be honest, if I called it a cheese puff (which is basically what it is), you’d envision a crunchy, orange snack in bag with a cat on the front. Gougères are so much more than that though…using the same recipe base of cream puffs, but instead use pimento cheese for a custardy like bite, with the holiday colors of the pimentos and pickles that make it festive for the holiday occasion without even trying. (Which is always ideal to do the least amount of work possible and claim it like you meant to do that.)
Pimento Cheese Gougères
Description
This easy, yet impressive recipe for pimento cheese gougères will impress your friends when you say it but even more when they eat it.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, chopped into pieces)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 grated extra-sharp cheddar
- 1 cup pimento cheese
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Combine milk, water and butter into sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat until melted.
- Add flour and salt at once, reduce heat to medium and stir mixture with wooden spoon until it pulls away from sides of pan.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for one minute. Dough should be smooth, thick and shiny.
- Add the dough to stand mixer.
- Using paddle attachment, mix dough on low speed until dough is not seaming, but isn’t cool before adding eggs.
- One a time, add eggs, incorporating into dough before adding next egg.
- Next add cheddar and pimento cheese along with seasonings and mix until blended.
- Move dough to pastry bag or resealable plastic bag to create heaping tablespoons of dough, two-inches apart on pan.
- Bake until golden brown, approximately 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking for another 8-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
[One tip: To make your gougères just the right size, use a pastry bag or simply use a plastic resealable bag. Fill it up with the dough, cut off the tip and begin your new career in French cooking like a pro (with none of the cooking school cost!)]
Ready to get cooking?
Get recipes and find your closest Walmart location for the NEW Price*s®Southern Style Original or Spicy Jalapeno Pimento Cheese here. Make your holidays a little more cheesier with the NEW Price*s®Southern Style Pimento Cheese!
