Cheese Mantacaos

I've finally found something I can make that's suitable for bringing to a potluck. These are described in the cookbook as "the Platonic ideal of our packaged cheese puffs, with the texture of macaroons and the flavors of fresh cheese and fragrant spices" (Mark Bittman, The Best Recipes in the World p. 35).

• One stick butter (8 tablespoons)
  
• One egg
  
• Two cups good quality cheese (cheddar, swiss, gruyere, etc.), grated or shredded
  
• 1.5 cups flour
  
• 3 teaspoons cumin (recipe calls for toasted seeds, I used powder and it came out fine)
  
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
  
• 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• paprika
  
  Mix everything except the paprika in a bowl. Make one-inch-diameter balls. Bake at 400 degrees^oF for about ten minutes. Sprinkle with paprika.

If you make larger balls and bake twice as long, you can also turn them into cheese biscuits. They're good that way, too.