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French Onion-Gruyere Mini Boules

French Onion-Gruyere Mini Boules

French Onion-Gruyere Mini Boules, a taste of that classic French onion soup! These are hollowed out bread balls stuffed with a creamy Gruyere cheese sauce and topped with sweet caramelized onions.
4.91 from 31 votes
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Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 24 minutes
Servings: 24 appetizers
Calories: 101kcal
Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

  • 12 Rhodes frozen yeast dinner rolls thawed
  • 2 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
  • 3 large onions sliced in half-rounds of 1/4-inch thick
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

To Make the Gruyere Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  • 8 ounces gruyere cheese grated
  • Fresh thyme leaves snipped chives or parsley for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Mini Boules:

  • Line a mini muffin pan with 24 mini parchment papers
  • Cut each yeast roll in half and form each half into small balls and place, seam side down, in the parchment papers. 
  • Cover the pan of yeast balls with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free space until they have risen to twice their size. About 45 minutes. (My favorite spot is the top of the refrigerator)  Meanwhile cook the onions.

To Caramelize the Onions:

  • In a large, wide cast iron or stainless steel skillet set over medium heat, add the oil and when it is hot add the sliced onions and herbs, tossing to coat them with the oil. Cook the onions, stirring them every 5 or 6 minutes, scraping up the fond from the bottom as it forms. Adjust the heat as necessary if you see they begin to brown to quickly. The onions should cook slowly to the tender stage which will release their sugars and cause them to caramelize. Do not stir too often or they will not brown properly and could become too soft. When they have reached a dark golden brown, about 45-50 minutes, add a couple tablespoons of wine or water to deglaze, scraping the fond goodies from the bottom of the skillet. Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the onions with salt and transfer them to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F
  • Transfer the muffin tin to the center rack of the preheated oven and bake the boules for 12-15 minutes until they are golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow to cool. 

To Make the Gruyere Sauce:

  • In a medium size saucepan set over medium heat, add the butter and when it has melted stir in the flour and cook until the mixture is a light golden color. Do not allow the butter-flour mixture to brown. 
  • Whisk in the milk and cream. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, until the sauce becomes thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the wine, and cook another minute to burn off the alcohol in the wine. 
  • Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the grated gruyere cheese, add the salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the cheese sauce to a dish, spray the top with cooking spray to prevent a skin from forming and allow the sauce to cool. The sauce will become very thick and cheesy when it is cool.

To Assemble the Mini-Boules:

  • With a small sharp knife cut the tops off of each boule and pick out the inside using a small appetizer fork and creating a bread shell.
  • With a small appetizer spoon, fill each mini boule 1/2-3/4 full with a scoop of the cheese sauce. Add a portion of the caramelized onions, heaping them on top. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving at room temperature.

Notes

  1. There are many choices of bread dough available, the package I used says each frozen bread ball weighs 1.3 ounce (38 grams). 
  2. When cooking the onions, use a large pronged fork such as a salad-bowl mixing fork to lift and stir the onions. I found that a wooden spoon mashed the onions a bit. A flat, stiff pancake turner works great for scraping the fond from the bottom. 
  3. An appetizer fork does a great job in hollowing out the bread balls.
  4. Use an appetizer spoon and be generous when you scoop the cheese sauce into the hollowed ball.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g