Have you ever had a cheese straw? No? Yes? They are a total staple of an old-fashioned Southern appetizer tray, so if you're from the South you probably know what we're talking about right now. We have had them on our to-try list for a long time, so when we finally got around to making them we went straight to the authority on all things Southern: Edna Lewis.
Edna Lewis, "the South's answer to Julia Child," always has the perfect recipe for any Southern-inspired food, and we've been enjoying her recipes a lot lately. This one, for cheese straws, is a perfect snap, and a winner with guests young and old. Cheese straws come together as an easy, buttery dough, and then you roll and cut them out into long cheesy sticks. (We added a little twist just to, you know, make them fancy.)
They taste remarkably like a goldfish cracker, with a bit of zing and a true cheesiness from good Cheddar cheese. We cut them into short, twisty sticks and served them standing straight up in little tumblers, along with pitchers of lemonade and platters fruit at an afternoon party. They went quickly — there were gone in nearly as little time as it took to make them, which isn't saying much!
We love these little snacks, and given that they're easily made ahead and can be stored for a few days in an airtight container, we think that they are an ideal low-stress yet homemade appetizer.
Do you make cheese straws? Do you have any particular recipe you like? We liked this one because it was all homemade; other recipes we've seen call for pre-made puff pastry dough.
• Get the recipe: Cheese Straws by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, at Food & Wine
More snacks and party foods:
• Cheddar Olives
• Cheddar Black-Eyed Susans
• Juno's Pregnant Dates
• Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
• Pimiento Cheese
• Bacon Pops
(Images: Faith Durand)
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MMMM those look and sound so tasty!
Emily
My grandmother always made them into little quarter-sized biscuits - and only at Christmas. I love 'em.
I make these every Christmas! You can use other cheeses like pepper jack and I sometimes cut them out into star shapes. Other times we add in cayenne and I've even used the cheddar cheese straw dough as a crust for an apple pie--delish!
I'm with Confabulation--most everyone I know in KY makes these in small biscuit form (of course, they don't rise). Whenever you have a bar laid out (bourbon, of course, and whatever else on a nice pewter or silver tray), you ALWAYS have these in a little bowl or julep cup beside the bar--they're as ubiquitous at Southern parties as bar nuts.
I've seen two recipes: one that's about like yours above (which is my fav, but finish off with a sprinkling of paprika on top) and one which has Rice Krispies mixed in! Sounds gross, I know, but give it a fun crunchy texture and goes something like this: http://www.recipezaar.com/Cheese-Wafers-Straws-Cookies-340084.
I like to cut the dough into squares and push half a pecan down into them.
That's funny. I always thought cheese straws were a midwestern thing. I've never eaten one, nor seen one, and I'm as south as it gets.
I add a little bit of ground chipotle to my cheese straws for a little something extra. Give it a try sometime.