Cheese straws

[helenjp]

Does anybody still make these? I remember them as good, but always in danger of being greasy rather than just short and crisp.

Do you make them plain and simple, or dress them up with blue cheeses, extra spices etc?

Do you use more flour or more cheese than this recipe? Hotter or cooler oven?

Please share your secrets! Here's mine...

Great-Grandma's Common Sense Cheese Straws

(probably from a late Victorian cookbook, but there are several cookbooks from around that era with "Common Sense" in the title!)

2 oz (50g) butter

3 oz (75g) flour

2 oz (50g) dry cheese (leave to dry in cool room or refrigerator till cracked and hard as soap before grating)

pinch salt

pinch cayenne

1 egg yolk

lemon juice to mix

Rub butter into flour, add cheese, then beaten yolk and lemon juice.

Roll out 1/8" thick, cut into fingers 4" long, moderate oven, leave on tray till cold.

FWIW, in comparison ewith other recipes around the net...

Very similar to the High Fearnley-Whittingstall/Fizz Carr recipe on the BBC Food website, except that the cheese is increased to 5oz (that would be 125g in terms of my recipe above, but my recipe involved leaving a hunk of cheese out to dry for a few days before grating), and the dough is rolled a little thicker, and baked in a hotter oven (220degC/425degF)

The other popular ways of making them seems to be either layering cheese and puff pastry; or a simple dough of equal parts by weight of butter, cheese, flour, and breadcrumbs (and up to 4 T milk or water) - this type seems to be just as old as or maybe older than the recipe I have.

I see that some people make a piped finger cookie called cheese straws, but I've never seen this type.

[therese]

Yes, I make cheese straws using a recipe that calls for 8 tbsp of butter, 8 ounces of grated cheese (sharp cheddar usually my choice), and 1 1/2 c flour. No egg, and I vary the seasonings depending on my mood.

I find that I can vary the final product quite a bit depending on how thin I roll the dough and how long I cook them (at 350F, for 12-15 minutes). Shorter cooking time with thicker dough gives something like a savory shortcake, longer cooking time/thinner dough gives a very crunchy/crispy, somewhat more oily cracker.

They are gone in seconds, no matter how many I make or how I cook them.

[annecros]

I make them from time to time. Dried mustard is a must (my Southern upbringing dictates that anything with cheddar requires a bit of dried mustard) but I often make cheese disks in the roll the log, refrigerate, slice and bake method.

[alanamoana]

i make cheese straws with puff pastry.

roll out a sheet, egg wash and coat with cheese mix (grated parm, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper), flip over and repeat on other side. cut into strips and twist into corkscrews and bake.

these are light and buttery without being greasy.