CHEESE STRAWS II

Cheese Straws II

Like Hardy, Maumus believes a perfect cheese straw should be extruded. “New Orleans cheese straws are never to be balled or rolled,” she says. She tried cookie presses, breaking a half dozen flimsy ones from both overuse and dough that was too firm. Finally she landed on an especially soft dough and a pastry bag with a metal star tip. Home hackers could make do with a ziplock bag snipped at the corner, but if there was ever a reason to invest in a pastry bag, this is it.

Whatever method you choose, keep the tip close to the baking sheet as you pipe, to create slightly flattened straws. Then bake them with the kind of precision that results in a light, crisp texture with a rich, cheesy flavor.

“I bake them briefly at a medium temperature and then turn the oven as low as possible to finish,” Maumus says. “I don’t want them to have any browning. The cheese flavor becomes too bitter.”

Still, she continues to tinker. She’s currently thinking about modifying caulk guns to use instead of pastry bags to increase volume and ensure consistency.

Cheese straws, Maumus says, “take a lifetime to perfect.”

INGREDIENTS

• CHEESE STRAWS

◦ 30 oz. extra-sharp cheddar (such as Cabot)

◦ 3/4 lb. unsalted butter

◦ 4 cups all-purpose flour (such as White Lily)

◦ 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

◦ 1 tsp. kosher salt

◦ 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

• SWANEE BITES

◦ 6–8 cups prepared pimento cheese

◦ 1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

PREPARATION

1 Grate cheese and butter using the large holes of a box grater, place mixture in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature at least 8 hours or overnight.  

2   In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne.  

3.  Place cheese and butter into the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment and blend until uniform (about 2 minutes). Remove cheese mixture to a large bowl and mix in flour mixture until thoroughly incorporated.  

4. Place dough into a pastry bag with a medium star tip and pipe in 2½-inch lines onto parchment-paper-lined baking sheets.  

5  Refrigerate cheese straws for 1 hour. (Cooling helps prevent the butter from separating during baking, which would result in greasy straws.)  

6. Preheat oven to 300ºF. Bake straws for 10 minutes. Rotate pans and lower oven temperature to 225ºF. Bake until crisp, 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of straws. To check, touch the middle of a straw—it should feel completely crisp.  7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

8:  For the Swanee Bites: To assemble Swanee Bites, spread 1 tbsp. pimento cheese on the flat side of a cheese straw, then top with another straw to create a sandwich. Place pecans in a shallow dish and lightly press each side of the sandwich into them.