Food Network Kitchen's Kids Can Make: Mac 'n' Cheese Bites for Food Network
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

Mac 'n' Cheese Bites

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 55 min
  • Active: 15 min
  • Yield: 36 bites
We miniaturized our kids' favorite meal into party-sized poppers. For big and little kids: Let them help measure the ingredients, stir them together and fill the muffin liners. You can make the snacks a day in advance, and warm them up at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes.

Ingredients

Directions

Special equipment:
2 or 3 mini-muffin pans (for 36 muffins), mini-muffin liners
  1. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line 2 or 3 mini-muffin pans with liners, and coat the liners generously with cooking spray.
  2. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the macaroni and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain again and shake off any excess water.
  3. Put the heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs, mustard, paprika and garlic in a large bowl. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until combined (the mixture may have small lumps). Add the macaroni, Cheddar and Monterey jack, and stir until combined.
  4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the mac 'n' cheese into the prepared muffin liners. Combine the breadcrumbs and butter with your fingers in a small bowl until the mixture is the texture of wet sand. Sprinkle the top of each mac 'n' cheese mound with the buttered breadcrumbs.
  5. Bake until the cheese is melted and the bites are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving hot or at room temperature. Serve with hot sauce on the side, if desired.