Mac-n-Cheese Balls

I always have leftover macaroni and cheese after making a batch of my Quick Mac. Sometimes we eat the leftovers and sometimes I end up throwing them away. To me, mac & cheese doesn't reheat well. So, I saw a Facebook post, recently, and they had made some fried cheese on a stick from leftover mac & cheese. They somewhat resembled lollipops on a stick. Fortunately, I had the mac & cheese leftovers, but I didn't have the fancy white sticks.

I rummaged around in my pantry and fridge to discover I had all the other ingredients. Yee-haw, it was time to give this recipe a try. I had made the mac & cheese the day before from my quick mac recipe; the leftovers had been covered and stored in our fridge. 

Next, I had to make the round mac balls, dip in egg wash, roll in flour, dip in egg wash again, and finally, roll in bread crumbs.

I heated the oil, in my trusty cast iron skillet after putting the prepared cheese balls in the freezer to keep them cold. I was ready to fry. My oil was at the right temperature and I got four of the cheese balls to fry. I carefully lowered one ball in the oil and it sizzled gently, so my oil wasn't too hot.
The first four cheese balls fried up beautiful. I removed them to the draining rack and went to get the next four to fry. I walked back over and, just for grins, decided to give one of the freshly fried mac & cheese balls a quick small bite.

I put the piping hot bite into my mouth and after a few chews there was a strange taste and it came to me, what I thought was Panko bread crumbs were, in fact, unsweetened coconut flakes. OH NO! "Is this bad?", I thought and kept chewing..."No, it is actually very delicious!".  I began to wonder if anyone else would think they were tasty, too. It was too late to worry and the damage was already done. They were beautiful golden nuggets sitting on the draining rack and ready to serve. Oh well, it's a done deal; like'em or leave'em. 

I finished up the next two batches of four, opened up a can of marinara sauce and plated the food.

Let me say, they were scarfed down with nary a crumb left on any plate. They all recognized the hint of coconut flavor but said that it was more than yummy! So, I will keep this accidental recipe and share my mistake with you to enjoy too.

Enjoy!

Equipment and supplies for this recipe:
Stove top
Large, high sided, frying skillet
Timer
Digital cooking thermometer for measuring hot oil/liquid
Tongs or slotted spoon
Cookie sheet
Cooling/draining wire rack
Paper towels
Cookie scoop (disher # 40 - 1 1/2 teaspoons size)
Three cereal size bowls
Fork
Cookie sheet lined with paper towels and a cooling rack placed on top.

Fried Cheese Balls Recipe:

2 cups of left over, prepared macaroni & cheese (from homemade, store bought, or prepared from a box).
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons water
2 cups of Bisquick Mix (or substitute all-purpose flour)
2 cups of dried unsweetened coconut flakes (or substitute with seasoned bread crumbs)
Frying oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
Additional and optional
Marinara sauce or Alfredo dipping sauce 

Directions:

 Before you begin, get out all the ingredients and get everything ready. This will prevent accidents, mistakes and help make this recipe easy and efficient to prepare!

#1
Using the #40 size scoop (or two spoons), scoop the cold, already prepared  and chilled macaroni and cheese into balls (about 1 1/2 teaspoons-full each). Set them aside on a separate plate.

#2
Crack open the two eggs and place in one of the bowls; discarding the shells. Add in the two teaspoons of water and scramble it all together.


#3
Place the flour and seasoned salt in the second bowl. Stir with the fork to mix them together.

#4
Place the unsweetened, dried coconut flakes (or seasoned bread crumbs) into the last unused bowl.

Ready to dip and roll. Prepared ahead of time!

#5
Take one of the freshly made cheese balls....THIS GETS MESSY...I just thought you should be forewarned...

Dip and roll the cold cheese ball in the egg bath. Next, roll the same cheese ball in the biscuit mix.

Ready to fry. Coated twice.

 #6
Now, using the same cheese ball, RE-dip the cheese ball in the egg bath again. Finally, roll it in the coconut flakes and set it back on the paper plate. Do this for all the cheese balls.




#7
You'll want to wash your hands at this point. Place the paper plates into the freezer or refrigerator until the oil has time to heat up to temperature. This will keep the coated cheese balls firm until ready to fry. 

#8

Just enough oil to fill about 3/4 full.

Place the frying skillet over medium-high heat. This point you will have to eyeball this and add in the oil until the skillet is three-fourths full. Do not over fill or the oil will spill over when the cheese balls are added. Heat the oil to 350F degrees. Use the digital thermometer to get the right temp.


# 9 
Now is the time to retrieve about four cheese balls from the freezer. Leave the others there to chill until needed. 
CAREFUL...HOT OIL!
Using the tongs or a slotted spoon, gently lower a single cheese ball into the hot oil. Repeat with three additional cheese balls.  Fry only four cheese balls at a time to keep the oil at the proper temp and allow plenty of space in the skillet.

#10
Fry the four cheese balls for 90 seconds and then turn each one over for an additional 90 seconds. The outer crust should be a dark brown color. When done you will lift out the cooked cheese ball and set it on the draining rack that you got ready at the start



#11
Finish off the remaining cheese balls, frying four at a time until all of them are fried.


#12 
Serve with marinara or Alfredo dipping sauce.

Look out! These are addicting!

These are beautiful. So flaky. Who knew coconut flakes would work?

Ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness...dripping with marinara sauce.

Enjoy!