Three-Cheese Mini Macs
These tiny individual mac and cheese bites from Food and Wine, made in a mini-muffin tin, are great party food. Here’s the recipe: Three-Cheese Mini Macs.
You start out with a nice roux that you melt the cheese into. The mini-macs turn out very rich and creamy with the roux base, three cheeses and the added egg yolk. However, I made a few additions to spice things up a little. I chopped six scallions and sauteed them and added them to the cheese mix. I also added generous dashes of cayenne and paprika. These seasonings give the mini macs a little something extra in terms of flavor beyond cheese.
The other change I made was to use “large rings” pasta shapes instead of elbow macaroni, because it’s what I had. These are actually very tiny pasta shapes despite the name, and I thought they held up to the cheese mixture just fine and worked because the mini-muffin pan makes such small bite-sized servings.
Brushing the muffin cups with butter absolutely keeps the macs from sticking, even though there’s shredded cheese in the bottom of each cup. The cheese makes a nice crisp edge and topping surrounding the soft, creamy center.  I made a couple batches in the same muffin tin and did not have to re-butter it after the first time.
I made these mini macs to test them out for an upcoming party and they definitely made the grade! They’re also extremely fast and easy to make, and can be prepped ahead of time (put into the muffin tin) and then baked right before guests arrive.
Tagged with american cheese, Appetizers, cayenne, cheddar, hors d'oeuvres, mini mac and cheese, mini muffin, paprika, parmigiano reggiano, party food, Pasta, scallions, three cheese
OMG! My son would love these! And it looks like it’s something he can help out with. Thanks!
These look awesome!!! Can’t wait to try them out. Good call on the added ingredients.
Yes, I bet it would be a fun one for kids — and a good snack!
Thanks, Meredith! They are really quick and easy!