5 Ingredients or Fewer

Anchovy Puffs

December  8, 2011
4.5
2 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 4-5 dozen
Author Notes

I've beeen making these for so long I barely recall where I found the recipe - I think it was an old Bon Appetit (c. 1978ish?) The original recipe couldn't have been simpler - 3-ingredient dough and a tube of anchovy paste. I decided I could improve on the anchovy paste a little. Best part is they freeze really well and can just be popped into a hot oven for 8-10 minutes and voila! Everyone who has ever tasted these wants more, even those who profess to hate anchovies! They are the perfect blend of salty, creamy, puffy and are indeed a single bite. —deanna1001

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Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 3 ounces cream cheese (1 small package) softened
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 cup flour (all purpose)
  • Filling
  • 2 tins anchovies - either flat or rolled with capers (drained)
  • 2 teaspoons capers, drained (only if using flat anchovies)
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
Directions
  1. Make dough: put all ingredients in food processor and process until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap or in a plastic bag and flatten into a disk. Put in refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour. (Dough will hold for several days.)
  2. Make filling: using either a small processor or a mortar and pestle, grind all ingredients into a paste. Put into a small sandwich bag and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 400º. Roll dough to 1/8" thick (do small amounts at a time and flour the board and rolling pin. A marble slab can be helpful or you can roll it between layers of wax paper - work quickly as the dough is sticky when warm.) Cut 2" circles. Reroll scraps and refrigerate as needed to make dough workable.
  4. Cut a small bit off one corner of the filling bag and pipe a scant 1/4 tsp. of flling in the center of each dough circle. Fold them in half and crimp with a fork to seal. Bake on cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes until golden and puffed.
  5. Wait a couple of minutes before sampling or you'll burn your mouth! To freeze: after forming the puffs put on cookie sheet and place in freezer for an hour. When frozen, put them into a ziplock. Cook as indicated for 10-11 minutes (no need to defrost.)

See what other Food52ers are saying.

6 Reviews

Nancy May 1, 2017
I want to love these and I'm not sure how to correct the saltiness next time. I do love salt and anchovies but these turned out far too salty. I used King Oscars flat anchovies in the little can. Maybe I need to rinse next time? For me the dough was easy to work with, but squeezing the right amount of anchovy paste from the zip loc was super messy. Even chilled it's pretty fussy. These are pretty tiny, you only need 1/4 tsp to fill. I will make these again because I do think they will be great with a cold prosecco!
deanna1001 May 2, 2017
Glad you tried these. Rinsing might help. 1/4 tsp is max for filling - it doesn't take much. I agree - they're great with prosecco! While they are a little fussy, you can make a lot of the them and freeze them on trays then put into ziplocks. They last without losing flavor at least 6 months. If you have seafood tools (lobster) you may be able to use the flat skinny end to portion out filling.
sexyLAMBCHOPx February 20, 2014
This looks delicious.
deanna1001 February 20, 2014
I hope you try them. They are addictive.
deanna1001 April 9, 2012
Generally there are 2 oz. in a tin. I used two tins for 4 oz. total. Let me know how the salted anchovies work out - might take a little more work to mash them...but should taste great.
jlsm April 9, 2012
I use salted anchovies. How many ounces in a tin of anchovies?