Last month I served these to my book club. Now they are here for you to pull out for your next get together. They are so easy to make. In fact you can prepare the dough ahead of time and freeze so it will be sitting there ready when you are ready. A hundred years ago I made these cheese straws using a manual cookie gun and I found them quite difficult to push through. Now Paula Deen has saved all of us some manual labor. How much easier can you get than slice and bake?
Another trick that I picked up, after rolling the dough in waxed paper place the rolls in cardboard paper towel rolls that have been cut lengthwise. Just sit the rolls in them and you have perfectly rounded sides. If the dough is soft when placing in the refrigerator it will flatten on the bottom. This way the roll is round all the way. It is a nifty idea for storing refrigerator cookies, too.
Happy New Year to all of you and thanks for stopping by my little blog! I really appreciate it.
Slice-and-Bake Cheese Straws from Paula Dean
Yield: 8 dozen
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Combined butter and cheese in a food processor. Make sure that you use the dough blade for this procedure. Check the manual. If you don’t have a food processor a mixer will work.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne. Add to the food processor bowl.
- Pulse just until the dough forms a ball. If you mix too long the crackers will have too much air in them and will not be dense
- Turn out on waxed paper and roll into small logs. I made four logs.
- Wrap the logs in waxed paper and twist the ends to keep airtight. Place in the refrigerator until firm enough to slice. About an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the dough into 1/4-inch slices and place 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Cool completely before placing into airtight tins.
- Dough may be placed into resealable plastic freezer bags and frozen.
- Baked cheese straws may be frozen. To reheat, place in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
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