Cheese Straws

This recipe is from Clementine Paddleford's classic How America Eats which was published in 1960. Clementine Paddleford (and may I just say how much I love that name) was a food columnist for the New York Herald Tribune  who traveled the country, and occasionally the world, collecting recipes for her column. In the 1950s she was the equivalent of a modern day Food Network star --there was no one who wrote about food in that era who was more famous. 

Cheese straws are an old-fashioned sort hors d'oeuvre, the kind of thing people of previous generations snacked on while sipping cocktails, and recipes for them are a staple of cookbooks from the early and mid-twentieth century. Unlike many popular foods of the past (congealed salads, I'm looking at you), these are still every bit as appealing as they were in the 1940s. Hot, crisp, rich, and slightly spicy they'd be perfect with a glass of champagne while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner.

Cheese Straws

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated fine
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
3 cups sifted flour
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Beat butter and cheese until incorporated. Add flour, cayenne, and salt and mix thoroughly. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.Cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide and four inches long.

3. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly brown and crisp

 

Comments

[justaplanerideaway]

These look delicious! I think they'd make a nice teacher's gift too--something a little different from the same old cookies and candies. Thank you for this recipe :-)

[adele]

Oooh. I have a weakness for anything involving cheese and pastry. I could probably eat my way through an entire tray of these. :)

[Andrea]

I read about this book in an older issue of Gourmet (I think it was Gourmet). I've had my eye out for the book ever since but have only come across ridiculously expensive collector's additions. It's great that you have it! I love your cheese straws! This is one of the first recipes I've seen that doesn't use puff pastry, also. Interesting!

[Janet]

I know this posting EVERY day thing is a struggle...but I sure am loving it.

[Mandy]

I would love to see a picture of these, they sound really great.

[claudia (cook eat FRET)]

i am so behind on your blog. ok. taking it from the top.

so, are straws like a vertical gougere?

where's the picture? i feel unfullfilled?

anyway - i love this. easy and a crowd pleaser. purrfecto.

[pigtown*design]

My dad used to make these with leftover pastry bits. I make them with puff pastry.

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Clementine is popping up on a few food blogs lately, so I think I need to sit down with some of her writing. I make cheese straws with puff pastry, which is the lazy way.

[michelle]

I love that name too! Cheese straws are so iconic - something that has been around so long for a reason! But I've never made them on my own, so now you have given me a good excuse! My grandmother passed along a cookbook from her mother in the 1920s - it's got such interesting recipes, I'll have to try some one of these days - thank you for the inspiration Julie!

[Susan from Food Blogga]

I used to eat these at a steak house in RI years ago. How I loved them. I never even considered making them, so thanks for the recipe.

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Don't forget, with that much "mucilage", such as butter, to hold it together, you can probably do yourself a favor, and use whole grain flour, without it breakin apart.

[Sue]

Tthanks for this recipe and photo!

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Its a kind of thing people of previous generations snacked on while sipping cocktails...

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Cheese straw!!As I am a food lover,loved the recipe.I love cheese.But here I found a little bit different recipe about the cheese.I will love to try it at my home.