Dede's Cheese Straws
makes about 6 dozen
Recipe from Virginia Willis
A cookie press is needed to make these savory crackers. I prefer the version that resembles a caulking gun, although a turn-crank model will do -- or an electric one for hard-core cheese straw makers!
Read more about this recipe in Virginia Willis' Bon Appétit, Y'All.
ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 pound sharp cheddar, at room temperature, freshly grated
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
timer
prep: 15 minutes
total: 50 minutes
tools
2 baking sheets
small bowl
mixer or food processor
cookie press
butter knife or offset spatula
cooling rack
instructions
1. Position the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter 2 baking sheets.
2. To make the dough, in a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and cayenne. Set aside. In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until smooth. (The dough can also be made in the bowl of a large food processor: grate the cheese with the grating blade, then transfer the cheese to a bowl and insert the metal blade. Pulse the dry ingredients to combine, then add the butter and cheese. Process until smooth.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.
3. To shape the dough, work it in your hands; it should be soft and pliable (like Play-Doh). Shape the dough into a cylinder and pack it into a cookie press fitted with the serrated ribbon disk. Holding the cookie press at an angle to one of the prepared baking sheets, press the trigger twice, dragging the press away to make a long straw the length of the baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve covered the sheet, spacing the ribbons of dough 1 inch apart.
4. Using a butter knife or offset spatula, cut each ribbon into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough and the other baking sheet. (If your cookie press extrudes the dough in fits and spurts, simply pick up the dough and reuse.)
5. Bake the cheese straws, rotating the baking sheets once, until lightly browned on the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheets to a rack to cool slightly. Using an offset or slotted spatula, remove the individual cheese straws to cool completely.
Reprinted with permission from Bon Appetit, Y'All: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis (Ten Speed Press, 2008).
