Brazilian Cheese Rolls

 I'll admit it, I found the recipe for these through Pinterest...and...I have fallen in love with them! These cheese rolls are like the ones you get at a Brazilian churascarilla. I should probably only make them for company, otherwise I feel obligated to eat the whole batch myself. (After all, the original website said they don't re-heat well...) I love how simple it is--mix, pour, bake, devour. And they're Gluten Free! The recipe fits nicely in my little smoothie blender (one of my most useful kitchen tools) so I don't have to get my big blender dirty. Just another reason to love it.

You can find the tapioca flour in most grocery stores with the specialty foods from Bob's Red Mill. Or, if you have an Asian grocery store handy, you can get it there at a MUCH cheaper price. (We recommend Erawan for confirmed gluten free-ness. The package looks like this.)

The batch pictured below, is actually a little over done. The bottoms ended up a little crunchy. But still very tasty!

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese (preferably medium or sharp)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth. (Add the flour last, otherwise it may turn to cement as you add the liquid before you mix.)  Add cheeses and pulse 2 times.  Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. (This will depend on your oven. Mine were done closer to 12 minutes.)  Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan.  Serve warm. Sometimes the tops will fall, that's OK, they still taste fine.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan.

To ensure gluten free, grate your own cheese. That way you don't have to worry about what they add to pre-grated bags to keep the cheese strands separated.