Cheese straws are a savory cracker made with cheddar cheese, flour, butter, and sometimes egg. They originated in England and gained popularity in the Southern United States. Recipes vary in cheese type and flavorings. They can be homemade or purchased from gourmet food sites.
Cheese straws are a delicious cracker typically made with cheddar cheese, flour, butter, and sometimes an egg to bind the ingredients together. They can be served fresh and hot from the oven or left to cool, which will give them more crispness and snap. You could really define cheese straws, which range in length averaging 3-4 inches (7.62-10.16 cm), as the taller, “grown-up” version of cheese crackers like Cheese Nips.
Food historians believe that cheese straws originated in England with several recipes for cheese biscuits. The famous Mrs. Beeton published a recipe for Cayenne cheeses in 1861, The Book of Household Management. The book was so popular that it was printed in the United States about 10 years later. American recipes took off from there, and recipes for cheesy straws or biscuits began to emerge mostly in Southern cookbooks. In the United States, these crackers appear to have been most popular in the South, although they have since gained popularity in other parts of the United States.
As mentioned, the recipes for making cheese straws can be very simple and are similar to making and processing pastry dough. While some modern recipes might suggest piping the dough through a cookie press, many other recipes suggest simply cutting the dough into thin straw shapes. Most people use a stand mixer in modern times to mix ingredients, but care must be taken not to over mix or overload the dough.
An early 20th century Fannie Farmer recipe had an interesting method for incorporating cheese into the pastry, especially useful before the advent of mixers and food processors. Directions suggest rolling out the dough, sprinkling cheddar cheese on the dough, then folding it over several times and rolling the dough again before cutting it into straws. The only problem with this recipe, a simple mix of cheddar, flour, and butter, is that it can make the dough work too easily. If you use this method, you may want to let the dough rest for about an hour in the fridge before the second rolling.
Some recipes for cheese straws strongly advocate the use of Parmesan, either in whole or in place of the cheddar. This will give the crackers a saltier, sharper taste. The quality of the crackers and their flavors really depend on the quality of the cheese and what kind of flavorings you use as well as the cheese. Cayenne pepper is a common choice for flavoring, but various recipes differ greatly in the type of cheese use, advocating cheddar, edam, cream cheese, blue cheese, parmesan, and asiago. Probably the best choice is to choose your favorite cheese when making these crackers.
If you’re not a fan of baking, there are several companies that make cheese straws. When you can’t find these crackers locally, look online at gourmet food sites for a variety of different straws. Really, though, with a food processor, these cheesy treats aren’t that difficult to prepare.
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