Tiny, cute toast cups filled with melted, beer infused cheese? Yes, please! This is a two-part recipe; each part can be used for other fun things!
Toast Cups:
- 1 pound sliced white bread – I like Pepperidge Farm for this
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- Preheat the oven to 350* and get out a mini muffin pan, a rolling pin and your biscuit cutter. Brush the cups of the muffin pan with butter and set aside.
- Gently roll each piece of white bread and cut out the center with the biscuit cutter. I save the scraps for bread crumbs. Ease each bread circle into a cup of the muffin pan. Brush the bread with more melted butter.
- Bake at 350* until golden, brown and delicious, about 20 minutes.
Welsh Rarebit:
- 2 oz butter
- 2 oz all purpose flour
- 8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
- 8 oz beer – dark is traditional, but I actually prefer a lager or milk instead of the beer
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium flame. Mix in the flour to make a roux and let it cook for 3 minutes, while stirring. This will keep the sauce from tasting like raw flour.
- Add 1/2 of the beer (or milk if using instead) and whisk briskly to break up any lumps. Add the rest of the liquid, and whisk again. Let the mix come to a boil – ok, it is more of a burble. Add half of the cheese, stir until melted and then the rest of the cheese.
Assembly:
1. Put a little of the Welsh Rarebit into a toast cup and enjoy! These can be put together an hour before serving and heated in the oven for 5 minutes.
Other uses for the Toast Cups:
- Fill with creamed spinach and a sprinkling of cheese and bake for a few minutes
- Use for tiny quiche
- Fill with egg/tuna/chicken salad for a fun presentation.
The Welsh Rarebit is also awesome on plain toast, as a dip for pretzels, or mixed with some chili and thrown in the CrockPot on low for a game day dip!
