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Ingredients
· ½ lb Sharp (Extra Sharp) Cheddar Cheese (Use aged cheddar if you can)
· ¾ cups Butter, softened (6 ounces)
· 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
· 2 wiri wiri peppers (remove seed and veins if you do not want the heat)
· 2 ¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon of flour (11 ounces or 312 grams)
· Pinch of salt Optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 °F
Making the dough in a Food Processor
1. Finely grate cheese, then add to a food processor, followed by the butter, spicy brown mustard, wiri wiri pepper
2. Blend together until you are left with a smooth, lump free cheese paste
3. Then add the flour and salt and continue to mix until fully combined into a smooth spreadable dough
Making the dough without a food processor
1. Grate the cheese using the fine shred side on a box grater, combine cheese, butter, mustard, pepper and salt (if using) and mash together with a fork until completely smooth. You may also use a hand mixer to mix it into a smooth paste
2. Then add the flour about ½ cup at a time and fold into the cheese paste until a smooth and spreadable dough forms
Piping and Baking
1. Add the dough to a pastry bag with a star tip (I used an open star tip in size 4B), then pipe onto a greased baking sheet into 3 to 6 inch strips
2. Bake at 400 °F for 10 to 15 minutes, or as soon as it starts to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving
Notes
See section above for substitutions and different ways to shape your cheese straws
1. You can replace a ¼ cup of butter with ¼ of vegetable shortening for a really light cheese straw. I prefer it with all butter because the cheese straw isn’t as crumbly but if you like that really melty cheese straw try this substitution.
2. The consistency of the cheese straw dough is soft and smooth and easy to work with. If it is hard to get through the pastry tip, then it is too stiff. If it comes and looks oily, your cheese straws will spread and be mushy. (Metemgee.com)
