- 1 (8-ounce) block extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups Swans Down®️ Cake Flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
Herbed Cheese Straws
Prep: 15 min
Bake: 10 min
Yield: Makes about 84 pieces
Fresh, homemade cheese "straws" are at their cheesy best with fresh herbs added for extra flavor. Eat them as a standalone snack or use for dipping with your favorite dips. They can be bagged and frozen for up to a month.
Ingredients
Directions
- PREHEAT oven to 400°F.
- GRATE cheese using a food processor fitted with the shredding disc attachment; transfer to a medium bowl. Switch to blade attachment.
- SIFT flour, and lightly spoon into a measuring cup for 3 cups. Add salt, garlic powder, mustard, black pepper, and red pepper; sift again.
- ADD flour mixture and thyme to food processor; pulse 2 to 4 times to combine. Add cheese and butter; pulse until a dough ball forms.
- PIPE dough into long straight lines, about 1/2- to 3/4-inch apart, on ungreased baking sheets using a cookie press fitted with a ribbon disk. Gently pat down to ensure ribbons are lying flat on baking sheets.
- BAKE until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- REMOVE from oven. Gently cut into 2.5-inch-long pieces using a small sharp knife. Loosen cheese straws from pans using a small offset spatula. Let cool completely.
- SERVE garnished with thyme, if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
KITCHEN TIP: To make ahead, let baked cheese straws cool completely. Place in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, pushing out as much air as possible; seal and freeze for up to 1 month. Remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
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Hands down, the perfect ratio of cheese to flour to butter. They turned out perfectly…except, the dough is so heavy that I almost burned up my Super Shooter electric cookie press AND almost broke my Kitchenaid manual cookie press! I really had to use some brute power to get them to come out of the press, not matter which tip I used! After switching to the manual press, I added just a couple of tablespoons of water to the dough and mixed it in really well. That did the trick. Exceptional flavor and very crisp and buttery! Perfect! Thanks.
Hi Lisa, We LOVE hearing from our happy Swans Down users. Thank you for the compliments and the feedback as well. We will pass these on to the kitchen. Happy baking!