Perfect Sausage Cheese Balls

I’ve been making sausage cheese balls for over 20 years.  I have perfected the recipe.  You can thank me after you eat them.  Here are all the tips and tricks I’ve learned, along with the recipe.

As you can see, this recipe has been used a lot!

Ingredients
   2 pounds of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (this is the only brand that gives me consistently good results—you can try another brand, but I can’t vouch for the outcome)

·         4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

·         1 ½ cups of Bisquik baking mix (Pioneer baking mix works too)

·         ½ cup finely chopped celery

·         ½ cup (or more) of finely chopped onion

·         2-4 cloves of finely chopped garlic or ½ tsp of garlic powder (to taste)

Instructions:

·         Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

·         Form into one inch balls and place on baking sheets (they may be frozen at this point to bake later, but really, why?)

·         Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown.

Tips to make this job 100% easier:

·        Take the sausage out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (at least an hour or so).   It is almost impossible to mix the ingredients thoroughly if the meat is cold.

·         Do not under any circumstances try to use plain flour instead of baking mix.  You will get golf balls.  Also, check the expiration date on your baking mix.  It doesn’t last that long.  If it is expired, buy some fresh.  Baking mix has baking powder and other additives that flour doesn’t have that allow it to rise.  I keep mine in the refrigerator after it is open to prolong the shelf life.

·         Use the biggest bowl you own to mix these ingredients.  The only way to mix them is with your hands.  Get them both in there and mix it up good!

·         Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.  If you don’t have parchment paper, buy some.  Nothing else works.  Even though they have a lot of fat in them, these will stick to the pan, whether greased or ungreased, they will stick to aluminum foil, and they will fall apart when you try to pry them off.

·         Try to make all your balls about the same size.  They cook more evenly that way.  I make mine about one inch in diameter.  You can use a rounded tablespoon or a melon scoop if you can’t judge the size easily.  Be sure to roll them in your palms to meld the ingredients together.

·         The balls may be placed very close together on the baking sheets as they don’t enlarge much.  I can usually get a whole batch on two baking sheets.  The recipe makes about 70 to 80 balls.

·         After they are cooked, let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then remove them to a container lined with paper towels to soak up any grease.