Pepper Jack Cheese Straws Recipes

CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl cream butter and cheese. Stir in flour and salt; mix well. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch in thickness. Cut into 2 inch strips and sprinkle with ground red pepper. Place strips on prepared cookie sheet(s) 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp.

PEPPER JACK CHEESE STICKS

Steps:

• Cut cheese into 2-3/4x1/2-in. sticks. Place the flour, eggs and cornflakes in three separate shallow bowls. Coat cheese sticks with flour; dip in egg, then roll in cornflakes until well coated. Let stand for 5 minutes., In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Cook cheese sticks in batches for 30 seconds or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Let stand for 3-5 minutes. Serve with salsa and guacamole.

CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Grate the cheese on the medium holes of a grater to make 4 cups. Cover the grated cheese and leave out with the butter until at room temperature, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. (Note: You need to grate your own cheese here--no pre-grated.)
• When ready to make the cheese straws, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
• Mix the flour, salt, cayenne, mustard and black pepper in a medium bowl.
• Put the cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until fairly smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Check the consistency; it should be just stiff enough to pipe. If not, add a little more flour.
• Scrape the dough into a piping bag or resealable plastic bag. Use a 1/4-inch tip or cut a 1/4-inch hole in the plastic bag. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 5- to 6-inch strips. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

EMERIL'S EASY CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, one at a time, roll out each pastry sheet to a 12x18-inch rectangle. Combine the egg and the water and whisk to make an egg wash.
• Lay one pastry sheet flat on the work surface and lightly brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the cheeses and Essence. Top with the remaining sheet of pastry, pressing firmly to seal, then lightly roll with a rolling pin. Trim the edges with a knife to make them even. If you wish, change the flavor of the straws by using pesto sauce instead of the egg wash, top with cheese, and proceed as directed.
• Cut the dough crosswise into strips, about 1/3 to 1/2-inch wide. Twist each three times to make a spiral and place on an ungreased baking sheet. (You can also cut the pastry into diamond shapes and place them on the baking sheet.) Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Serve warm.

CHEDDAR CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, grated cheese and butter or margarine in a bowl and mix until well combined. Add water a little bit at a time to make a very stiff dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll pieces of the dough into just slightly thicker than pencil shaped sticks. Cut sticks into 4 to 5 inch lengths. Arrange the pieces on the baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 minutes or until browned.

LEMON PEPPER CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and roll the sheet of puff pastry to an 1/8th of an inch in thickness. Try to keep it approximately the shape of a rectangle for smoother edges.
• Sprinkle the cheese, lemon zest, ground pepper, and salt evenly over the long top half. Fold the bottom half over, gently pressing the two sides together to seal. Use a very sharp knife to cut 1/2-3/4 inch wide strips.
• Handling one strip at a time, take one end in each hand and carefully twist them in opposite directions to form a tight spiral. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, pressing the ends down firmly to discourage them from uncurling. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the twists about 1 inch apart. Move the entire batch into the freezer and let rest for 30 minutes before baking.
• Once the straws are nearly done chilling, begin preheating your oven to 425 degrees F.
• Move the frozen baking sheet immediately into the oven and bake until the straws are golden brown all over(13-16 minutes). Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely before eating.

PEPPERONI CHEDDAR STRAWS

Steps:

• In a food processor blend the flour, the salt, the Cheddar, and the butter until the mixture resembles meal. With the motor running add 5 tablespoons of the water and and blend the mixture, adding more water if necessary, until it just forms a dough. Do not overblend the dough. Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and halve it.
• In the food processor grind fine the pepperoni with the cayenne, add half the dough, reserving the other half, chilled, and blend the mixture until the pepperoni is just distributed throughout the dough. On the sheet of wax paper halve the pepperoni dough and divide 1 of the halves into thirds, reserving the other half, wrapped and chilled. Roll each third into an 8-inch rope. Repeat the rolling procedure with half of the reserved plain cheese dough.
• On a new sheet of wax paper arrange the 6 ropes side by side, alternating the pepperoni with the plain, press them tightly together, and top them with another sheet of wax paper. With a rolling pin flatten the ropes between the sheets of wax paper and roll them into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangles (about 15 by 7 inches). Transfer the dough and the wax paper to a baking sheet and chill it for at least 1 hour or overnight. Repeat the entire procedure with the reserved plain cheese and pepperoni doughs. The sheets of dough may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered tightly and chilled.
• Cut the sheets of dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips, discarding the wax paper. Bake the strips in batches on greased baking sheets in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 10 minutes, or until they are golden, transferring them as they are baked to racks, and let them cool. Serve the straws freshly baked.