Curry Bread Puffs

So I made these "Hot Cheddar Puffs" for a Welcome to Autumn party. They sounded great and I thought they would be a nice Fallish snack. And they were. Only I didn't feel like the title of the recipe was descriptive of what actually came out of my oven at all, so I decided to rename the little puffs Curry Bread Puffs.

What they really are are very light, airy bread balls with a distinctive curry flavor and a hint of cheese. These would be awesome paired with a curry dish to wipe up the sauce. Or as little dippers in a creamy soup. They are fun to eat because they are bite sized, and they do surprise you when you bite into them, because they are nothing like you've ever had before; well at least nothing like I had ever had before.

Curry Bread Puffs (or Hot Cheddar Puffs)
Recipe from Good Housekeeping's Classic Home Cooking
Picture by Caroline
Makes about 2 dozen puffs (although the recipe says 8)

2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
 4 large eggs
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease two large cookie sheets.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, combine curry powder, coriander, cumin, and ground red pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in butter, salt, and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Remove from heat. With wooden spoon, stir in flour all at once. Return pan to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until batter is smooth and satiny. Stir in Cheddar. Spoon batter into large pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe batter, about 1 inch apart, on cookie sheet, forming 1-inch-wide and 3/4-inch-high mounds. Alternatively, drop teaspoon of dough on cookie sheets. With fingertip dipped in cool water, smooth peaks (or use a zip-lock baggie with a tiny hole cut in the corner like I did).
4. Bake puffs until deep golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between oven racks halfway through baking. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
5. Serve puffs at room temperature or reheat in 400° F oven 5 minutes to serve hot.