Cheese Straws

June was a crazy month, with three cooking classes out at the University, a tea party, and a couple of food-related articles.  I know I owe you guys follow-up on all of it (and I'll try to get to that over the next couple of weeks), but today I wanted to get in the kitchen and cook some old-fashioned comfort food.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the fridge, so I decided to make some cheese straws.  I didn't have any cheddar on hand, so I did the cheese straws with Parmasean.  The dough came out a bit dry, so I added a little water.  I like my cheese straws with a bit of a kick.  If you don't, you could alway omit either the cayane or the white pepper, or both.

Parm Cheese Straws

2 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated  
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup butter, softenend
2 tbsp. very cold water
in a large bowl, combine all ingredients, working the butter into the rest of the ingredients with the tips of your fingers or a pastry cutter.  If necessary, add a litte more cold water.  When the dough can be gathered together into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and referigerate for half an hour or more.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Remove dough from referigerator, and roll out to form a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 1 1/2" x 3" pieces and place 1" apart on a baking stone (or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper).  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until  browned.

 Note:  If you want to make "fancy" cheese straws, skip referigerating the dough, and press it through a cookie press into strip "cookies" instead.