Oh my, these are just the most deliciously indulgent easy peasy cheesy snacks out there. Think no fuss savoury doughnuts filled with mozzarella and you get the idea. Mozzarella dough bites are made with a handful of ingredients and don’t require yeast, so don’t need any time to prove which means you can get them made pretty quickly. They are deep fried, which does make them a treat, but trust me they are worth it. 

Mustard scented pillowy dough balls filled with mozzarella and topped with parmesan and chives. Absolutely delicious and fab for party food. I’ve got a stash in the freezer waiting for people to come round, they are such a crowd pleaser, they’ll go in minutes. Serve them with soup as an alternative to a toasted cheese sandwich, or with a dipping sauce, and you’ve got a serious hit on your hands. 

Ingredients

500g self rising flour

500g plain greek yoghurt

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

2 tsp mustard powder 

2 balls mozzarella 

Parsley and chives to garnish 

Pepper to taste 

Vegetable or sunflower oil for deep fat frying

Makes 24 dough bites 

Method for mozzarella dough bites

In a large bowl pour in the flour, salt, baking powder, pepper and mustard powder. Stir to combine. 

Then add in the yoghurt and stir together until the mixture forms a soft ball of dough. 

Cover with a damp tea towel while you prep the mozzarella. 

Drain the mozzarella balls with a kitchen towel and divide evenly into 24 pieces. (12 pieces per ball). 

Divide the dough into 24 pieces and roll into balls. You can either do this by eye, rolling the dough into a log shape and then dividing into sections or if you’d like you can weigh them out. It’ll be approximately 40g per bite. 

Pop some flour onto your board and now we’re ready to start rolling and filling. 

Take a ball, and flatten slightly, making a dip with your fingers, so that the sides and middle of the dough ball are slightly raised and there is a motte-like shape around the outside. (For all you history buffs out there, think motte and bailey castles) The reason for this is that it helps to keep the cheese from oozing out of the bites while they are cooking. 

Tear a piece of cheese and add it to the middle of the ball. Then, as if you were making dumplings, bring together each side of dough and form it together so that there are no gaps and no cheese is showing. 

Pop each ball onto a floured baking tray, seam side down, and then repeat. 

Once all of the balls have been made, you can start to heat your oil. 

In a large pan, pour in oil to begin heating. Don’t fill the saucepan about the half way line to keep everything nice and safe while you’re frying. 

Let the oil heat to 160C. A thermometer is useful here to check to see when the oil is ready. 

When it reaches the right temperature, safely drop in the balls one at a time, cooking in batches of 6. Carefully lower the dough into the oil, dropping it away from you and as close to the surface as possible to avoid it splashing up at you. 

Cook the dough bites on each side for 2 minutes, 4 minute cooking time in total. As they are stuffed with cheese, some of the balls might start to flip over, with a slotted skimmer spoon, carefully nudging them back the right way, until they are all a light golden brown colour. 

When they are down, pop them onto a paper towel, to drain the excess oil. Then scatter with parmesan and chives and serve hot so you can enjoy all that melty, gooey cheese. 

If you want to eat later, make them earlier in the day and simply reheat in a 180C oven for about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can freeze the mozzarella dough bites and eat them within a few months.

Looking for more party food ideas? Try our Mince pie Christmas cupcakes, Iced party biscuits Cheddar Red Leicester cheese scone recipe and our Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts