the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Southern Sausage and Cheese Balls

Growing up in the South, just about every holiday spent with extended family, or party with friends, included at least plate or platter of some version of these classic sausage cheese balls.

One of my grandmother’s (the scratch baker grandmother) recipe was something along the lines of classic Southern chef Vivian Howard’s; my other grandmother used the (gasp, cough, wheeze) Bisquick-based recipe still floating around out there today.

It didn’t matter, as kids we still stuffed our pockets with these little bite-sized delights and fought over the last two on the plate.

After moving to a primal | paleo food plan years ago, to be honest I’d never even thought about a gluten free, primally-oriented version of these until a friend recently asked me if I’d ever run across one as she was planning a party menu.

There are several good ones floating around, and this one isn’t all that different from many you’ll see, save for kicking the spices up quite a bit, and adding additional flavor with alliums and peppers. I’ve added a shallot (or green onions), finely diced, to sauté with the sausage, my grandmother’s dry mustard, cayenne, and red pepper flakes (or minced serranos), and even use Monterrey jack cheese occasionally to mix things up. (In the pic above, we used cheddar on the left and MJ on the right.)

Upping the coconut flour to 1/2 cup (a generous 1/2 cup) makes these a little more bready, though my wife prefers ‘em with less coconut flour. Another tip – portioning out with a cookie scoop (I used a No. 60, about a tbsp; made 7 rows of 5 balls, which just fit on a standard 1/2-sheet) make the prep easier and faster.

These are great for a quick snack and my lovely wife has been grabbing handful for a work lunch on the run.

1 pound spicy ground sausage
1 medium shallot, diced fine OR
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced

4 eggs
4 and 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp sour cream or softened cream cheese
1/3 to 1/2 cup coconut flour (generous measure, see note above)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp good salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne

2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese

Optional
Toasted red pepper flakes
1-2 minced serrano or jalapeno peppers

Sauté the sausage for several minutes, breaking it up into small pieces. As it’s beginning to brown, throw in the shallot or green onions. Brown the sausage well, and drain in a paper towel-lined bowl.

While the sausage is browning, melt the butter and set aside. Grate the cheese and line a baking sheet with parchment. Preheat the oven to 375.

Now combine the eggs, butter, sour cream/cream cheese, mustard, garlic powder, salt, baking powder, cayenne, and red pepper flakes or minced peppers; whisk to combine well. Now whisk in the coconut flour until well combined.

Stir in the sausage-onion mixture and the cheese until evenly distributed, then form into balls roughly 1-inch in diameter (I used a cookie scoop) and place on the lined baking sheet. Place fairly closely on the sheet in 7 rows of 5 and it’ll just fit a standard 1/2-sheet.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until slightly browned; cool and store in the fridge (should be good for a week or so, though they won’t last that long).

Enjoy.