(Recipe Courtesy of Morrison-Clark Historic Inn and Restaurant )
Many years ago I had a recipe for cheese straws. It was wonderful. I lost it. I searched all over the Internet, checked with Martha (I thought it came from her originally), couldn't find it. So today I was cleaning out a closet, found an old box filled with old PC data CDs, one of which was a backup of an old /Documents folder. With a subfolder "Recipes".
I love this recipe.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on how hot you want straws
1/2 pound unsalted butter, cold, cut in small pieces
1 cup packed, grated white aged Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated, good quality Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup packed, grated, yellow Cheddar cheese
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
1) Mix flours, salt, and cayenne pepper together. With the tips of your fingers, work cold butter quickly into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of peas. Add all cheeses and toss together.
2) Sprinkle the water in by the tablespoon while tossing the flour cheese mixture with your other hand. As soon as the dough begins to form a mixture that sticks together, gently press it out on a lightly floured board in a rectangle about 10 to 12 inches long by 5 to 6 inches wide. Roll quickly with a rolling pin, so the dough is a solid piece. It will look rough at this point, but will smooth out later.
3) Fold 1/3 of the dough towards you from the top and 1/3 of the dough away from you towards the top. The dough will break along the folds; don’t worry about it. Turn the dough block sideways so it looks like a book. Roll the dough a second time and fold again. Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Roll and fold the dough twice more. Rest it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. At this point, the dough may be frozen in one or two pieces or rolled to make cheese straws.
4) To roll dough to make cheese straws, cut dough in half, keeping one half chilled. On a lightly floured board, roll dough about 1/8-inch thick in a rectangle about 8 to 9 inches wide. Trim the edges (but bake the trimmings for a snack). With a sharp knife, cut the straws ½-inch wide and lay them on a well greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 - 18 minutes until a light brown. They will crisp as they cool. The straws are fragile, so handle them carefully and eat them soon.