Cheese Straws

I made this recipe last year and it turns out great. A couple of pointers though, 1) watch how much cayenne pepper you put in, a LITTLE goes a long way; and 2) instead of strips, I recommend a cookie gun. I use the small star disk and the pipped out string works out excellent. When it STARTS to brown in the oven, remove because it will continue to cook and brown even more after removing.

If you want something different to serve as snacks, if your kids like cheese goldfishes - you will want to make this! I made this with no cayenne pepper and with sharp cheddar cheese and it was positively scrumptious! Make sure the butter is at room temperature, cream it first, then add the cheese, and then add the flour a little at a time. I rolled that into a ball with my hands a little at a time and cooked for exactly 12 minutes - wonderful!

Use a cookie press to make these -- I press long ribbons then cut or break them into 1 inch pieces before baking. I'm thinking one of the small cookie press plates (like the small star) would also make more straw-like snacks.

very easy to make and tasty! the key is to, as others have suggested, is letting your butter and cheese come to room temp. i had no problem creaming the two together. i followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of adding in 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper into my dough (instead of sprinkling on after). i also ended up adding about a cup of water to make the dough come together. i rolled it out and cut into strips. and baked for 12-15 minutes. next time, because my dough was soft, i will try piping these through a pastry bag to form consistent sized straws. very good snack with minimal effort! thanks!

This recipe is wonderful! Although my dough (as recipe says) was fine originally, I added two eggs to fluff it up a bit, so I had to add some extra flour. I also added about a tablespoon of garlic powder, used a little less salt, but sprinkled coarse salt on top. I also put the red pepper on top, it gave it a nice kick. Very light and fluffy with wonderful flavor!

I used three cups of cheese instead of four, dropped my temp to 375 and baked for 10 minutes and they turned out perfect. Reducing the amount of cheese allowed the taste (not heat) of the red pepper to come out a little more. If you reduce the cheese you need to also reduce the temp and cook time or they will overcook. TIP - use Cracker Barrel extra sharp and don't buy pre-shredded cheese. shred the cheese cold and allow the butter and cheese to come to room temp before you cream them. I used an electric mixer to cream the cheese and butter, but I mixed the dry ingredients in by hand. DON'T USE WATER. Mold the dough by hand for about 10 min and it will be ready to roll out (something my grandmother taught me). Don't try to roll out the entire dough mixture at once. Break it into smaller fist-size dough balls and do several batches. This will allow you to figure out how thin/thick you want your cheese straws to be. It also gives you a chance to adjust your cooking temp and time since everyone's ovens are a little different.

This recipe is delicous, but it was very hard to form the straws. I was unable to successfully cream the butter and cheese, therefore when I tried to roll out the dough it crumbled. Any suggestions?

These were really good, however, I did add about 1/3 cup water to the recipe to get it to stick together. It was then about like pie dough. Also, I cut the heat back to 375 because the first batch was too brown after 11 min.

Needed liquid. Original recipe was way to dry to form a dough. After reading other reviews, I added two eggs and a 1/2 cup of warm water. I also added garlic salt and onion powder. Tasted great. Really good with melted garlic butter.

these are really terrific, but there was one problem- i could not get the butter and cheese to "cream". is that even possible? i had to warm the cheese a bit to get it to mesh with everything, but after that, they turned out great.

I had never heard of cheese straws until about a week ago. I wasn't sure how such a thing would work out, but I'm not the kind to say "no" to anything that has butter and cheese as its main ingredients! I followed the recipe, but added a little garlic powder and had to add a couple tablespoons of water to make the dough stick. Once the first straws came out of the oven, I popped one in my mouth. The first bite was ok. The second bite was good and the third quite good. The second straw, which had cooled to room temperature, was amazing. I ate six of them in less than five minutes. I am still eating them as I'm typing. These are amazing little gems and this yankee is happy to know yet another Southern secret!

SO yummy, and so easy! And way better for you than the store bought processed crackers:)

These are great. I used sharp chedder. It's great to make these all year round.

These are delicious! Though I made the following changes: 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (instead of 1/4 tsp), added a couple shakes of garlic powder and a little over 1/4 cup water. I didn't have a rolling pin or anything to roll it out, so I just made ping-pong sized balls, then flattened them with the bottom of a cup into 1/2 inch thick disks. Baked 15 minutes. They are more like little cheese biscuits than crackers or anything. They may have been more cracker-like if I made them thinner or baked them longer, but I like them the way they are. Next time I might try white cheddar or mozzarella with italian herbs...yum.

This recipe was so easy! I used the same dough to make cheese puffs. I just rolled 1/2 balls and baked for the same amount of time...very easy to do for a big crowd! (also I tried it once with a mixture of parmesean and cheddar and it was a wonderful taste!)

Used food processor & it worked wonderfully. Added dashes of Worchester Sause to help blend, but no milk or water, and left out the hot pepper. Also, rolled in large tubes first and hardened in refr., then cut into 1/4" slices and used a heart shape cookie cutter. Daughter married on Valentine's Day and these added to our heart cut cheese tray were a big hit!

Really great and easy. My kids liked the dough just as well as the crackers. I let the cheese and butter sit to room temp, but the flour still made the dough too stiff to roll out. I used 1/3 cup of water and it made a more piecrust-type dough. I piped it out of a half-inch round decorator tip with a frosting bag and got great straws. Next time I'll add a total of 2/3 cup water and I think I'll be able to get the 1/4 inch straws I was after. They baked up much more crispy which = better flavor. They remind me of Cheese Nips, which I love.

This is the perfect cheese straw recipe! To make the dough easier to work with let the cheese and butter sit out at room temp for a few hours, they cream together beautifully at room temp and makes the dough super easy to work with. I get requests to make these all the time! AWESOME! Thank you!!

I had to use 1 cup of butter, softened as the mixture was too crumbly with just half. I used a pizza cutter for cutting the strips and it worked really well. I think they were delicious and I will definitely make them again some time.

The cheese straws were wonderful. However, I had trouble with the dough sticking together, and I added another 1/4 cup of butter. This was exactly what it seemed to need. I also added a bit more red pepper. Everyone loved them, and my batch of cheese straws did not last very long. I will definitely be making these again!

I've used this recipe many times and people love it. I've never found it to be difficult; I think it's one of the easiest to roll and cut with cookie cutters. I use a 16 oz block of sharp or extra sharp cheddar and grate it myself. This softens the cheese a bit and allows it to cream just fine. The dough will be a bit crumbly, but just knead it together a bit and it's fine. I definitely don't bake them for the full 15 minutes; 12 and less is generally good enough. Mine tend to form a large air bubble, so I poke holes in them before baking.

When making this recipe, I followed the instructions that were given. I did not have a problem creaming the butter and the cheese and did not have to add any additional items. It helps if these two ingredients are at room temperature. For me, it went through stages as I beat it. First it got really crumbly, but the longer I beat it, it became more like dough. I do have a stand mixer, and I don't know if that helped the with the mixing. Although the taste was very good as is, I did sprinkle some garlic salt on the top before baking.

I am rating the idea of this recipe. I was going on a wine tour and needed a more grown up taste. I used 1/2 C butter, 3 oz. cream cheese,2 1/2 cups extra sharp cheedar, 1/2 c crubmled blue cheese, 1/2 tsp garlic powder,1-2 tsp hot sauce, 1/2 tsp salt. I rolled them into about 3/4 in balls and flattened with a floured juice glass. Sprinkeled with smoked paprika and baked for 8 minute. It's kind of like a grown up goldfish. They went well with the dried fruit and almonds I packed for the limo.

Good recipe. I had to let the dough come to room temperature, as I didn't think to let the cheese come to room temperature before creaming it with the butter. Once it had warmed, it was easy to form into balls. I'll let the butter and cheese come to room temperature and decrease the salt next time, but I'll definitely make it again.

Instead of red pepper flakes, I used a few drops of Tabasco (hot) sauce. I mixed everything well in my Kitchen Aid mixer so the dough was easy to handle and the straws were delicious.

For those at there that could not get the dough to roll in a ball, add a little milk or water and it will come together perfectly. never add more butter or eggs. On the flip side if the dough seems to soft just add more flour. I add freeze dried chives to the dough for a delicious twist.

I followed this recipe to the letter and it was impossible to get it to hold together. I gave in to frustration and added a beaten egg to the mixture and finally I was able to get the mix to hold together. Do not believe will be making again.

These straws taste great, I topped with Paprika. The only thing I did not like was how crumbly the dough was. In the past I had a wonderful cheese straw recipe and hoping this was it, used to be able to twist the straws. With this dough everytime I tried to twist they just broke. Nice taste, but not quite what I am looking for.

It was ok. not a wow got to have it recipe.. everyone compared it to the garlic cheese biscuts at red lobster. I used my jerky gun with the 1/4" filler tube to form real straws. Baked a full 12 min. for the perfect texture. Made a few changes... and two batches later found a recipe that works wonders, a must have at all parties. Thank you for a great base to start from.

My husband and daughters were addicted to cheese crackers until I found this recipe. I, too, use my grandmother's cookie press (my girls love helping with that part!) and I have made these with several types of cheese - pepper jack is my husband's favorite and the girls like the mexican cheese blend. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

Very good! I added an egg white to act as a binder for everything. I also added about 1/2 tsp of garlic powder. YUMMY!

This is the closest recipe I have found to the one my mother used to make. It has the denseness that we love. I think it is because there is no baking powder? Always use very sharp cheddar. I used half yellow and extra sharp Vermont white cheddar...so they still had a creamy yellow color. I did need to add a little bit of il during the creaming process. I divided the dough into three balls for rolling out. I also baked them on parchments paper and the perfect timing was 12 minutes. Make sure you don't roll out too thin. Yummy

Just what I was looking for! I wanted a snack for a party that was cheesy & wouldn't have to stay warm to be served. These are great little 'finger-foods.' I used Vermont extra sharp cheddar & didn't add the pepper. I also used a few dashes of milk to aid in binding. I was afraid I was overworking the dough, but it didn't effect the end result. Tasty! Thanks.

Really good! I love these so much more than sweet cookies around the holidays. I added poppy seed to the top of half of them and they were awesome!

I have been making cheese straws for 40 some years. This is absolutely the best ones I have ever made. They were delicious crispy perfectly done. Great recipe.

this recipe turned out great for me. i had to use another 1/2 stick of butter to make the dough come together, and to make it more cheesy, i subbed out some grated romano and used 1 teaspoon cayenne. i refrigerated for 30 to stiffen dough a bit and rolled it out to about 1/3 inch and used a pizza cutter to cut into strips. i placed on parchment and rolled the strips more round. i am not sure how long i baked them for but it was at 350 convection oven and i watched them until barely golden. the sticks held up beautifully with no breakage and had a cracker/cookie consistency. i will make thinner next time knowing they hold up so well. i saw another recipe with baking soda and was wondering about the drastric difference in a recipe with and without baking soda. one teaspoon of cayenne was not too hot for me. it was not a burn your mouth hot at all but a just pleasant i know this is spicy. i think this would turn out well also with little mini cookie cutters instead of cheese sticks. this had great consistency, great flavor. thanks!

My dauther had to bring a "salty" snack to school for their christmas party, so we made these. we rolled them out really really flat and used christmas cookie cutters to cut them out. They were a BIG hit!

This recipe is a hit! I made a few changes, 2 cups cheese and 1 cup flour, instead of the amount given..I added a dash of worchestershire sauce and a dash of garlic powder. Also sprinkled with sea salt lightly before baking. Had planned to serve these tomorrow for the holiday, but my family ate them as fast as I was cooking them. Now I have to make a second batch! Delicious!

We used half extra sharp cheddar and half veggie cheddar to make these lactose free. My kids loved them.

mmmm lovely added some pepper, about 1tsp of dijon mustard and a little milk to bind. made them by hand rather then rolling them out as i wnated them to look rustic. not too crunchy

These were awesome and easy!!! I added about 4 tbsp cold water to form dough..I made them to take to a Cookie Exchange for nibbles..they were gone in no time, and I was asked for the recipe by several peeps!!! I am making them again for New year's Eve!! YUM!

Thank you! We loved these (especially my picky 2 year old!). I added some hot sauce & worcestershire to the dough to help form it. A little dry mustard in the mix is nice as well. Yummy!

I followed the recipe exactly how it says to make it and took people’s advice and let the cheese and butter come to room temperature , then added flour and salt and put gloves on and kneaded it into a dough and loaded it into my Marcato Cookie press with the large star tip and it squeezed out perfectly. they taste great! just like goldfish crackers but better. I would recommend this recipe to friends and family.

These were pretty good. Like the others, I had to add some water to get the dough to form. I didn't have a lot of luck rolling large pieces out to cut into strips, so I just hand rolled them all, which did take a while. This recipe makes a TON. I might cut it in half next time. I sprinkled each cookie sheet's worth with something different- red pepper, garlic powder, seasoning salt, sesame seeds, chili powder, and paprika. I served them at our Super Bowl party yesterday with chili and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Thanks for sharing!

These are very tasty, but I wouldn't say "fairly simple". The dough is difficult to work with, therefore this took MUCH longer to assemble than I expected. Also you have to watch the time....15 minutes would have SCORCHED mine, and I ended up baking (all but the first batch) for around 9 minutes. I too left out the pepper and it tatsted great! I will make again, but only 'cuz my kids love, not 'cus it's easy!! :)

i made these for my boyfriend and they were great! i had a slight problem getting it to form an actual dough type texture, but i added another half a stick of softened butter, and it seemed to help a lot!

This recipe is the best. My husband took a tentative first bite and then gobbled them up. He's on a low carb diet and these work great. I used differently sized leaf shape cookie cutters to cut the dough and they provided a nice fall theme at our dinner table.

i had to double the butter and mix it together with my hands but they were lovely. next time i might use a stronger cheese than i did - used mild cheddar because of the cost - for a stronger flavour

Very good as a party appetizer with cocktails or everyday snack. My kids love having "homemade Goldfish. for thier snack" Very important that the cheese is at room temperature for it to cream easily. I tried using a piping bag and star tip, but dough was too thick and wouldn't come out. Will try using a cookie press next time.

I hate to give a bad review, but there is something missing from this recipe. There is not enough 'liquid' to make the dough stick. I would recommend sitting the cheese and butter out at room temperature for at least an hour. I didn't, and the dough with much too crumbly. It did not come together at all. I had to add a lot of water to get any sort of resemblance of dough. Once I did that, they turned out ok. Sorry, but I think that there are better cheese straw recipes out there.

Sorry, but these turned out terribly! They were dense and pretty tasteless- not the airy, crisp cheese straws I expected. I used real butter and cheese and let them come to room temp so they were soft, but the dough was crumbly. I finally added a sprinkling of water to get the dough to form but they never tasted right. I don't think I did anything wrong, but perhaps I did because this recipe just didn't work out for me and others seemed to enjoy it. Sorry!

These turned out great. I am lazy, so I made logs of the batter and sliced them into thin rounds and used bagged shredded sharp cheese. The addition I made was adding 3 teaspoons of Worcestershire.

These were just what I was looking for. I added about 1 tablespoon of milk and about 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Very tasty!

Very good. A little difficult to hold together before baking.

Got this recipe from MIL 30 years ago and make it often throughout the year. Her recipe doesn't include salt and I use very good New York Extra Sharp cheddar which I shred myself instead of using preshred. I also use my cuisinart to mix it all into a ball. Then I use an old fashioned cookie press with the ridged line disc and make a cracker type cheese straw.

Just like my grandmothers holiday cheeses straws. I made as is but added another 1/4 cup of butter when the dough was too crumbly. That was perfect. I used a pastry dough cutter to mix the cheese, butter and other ingredients.

the boys loved these

I thought it was okay...the (sharp cheddar) cheese and butter was room temperature but it still wasn't coming together after adding the flour and salt. I decided to add a little water (made a small batch) and it brought it together. Would I make it again...probably not.

Worked great as is. I like a bit less salt, but these were a hit at a potluck and my picky eater gobbled them up.

These came out perfectly. I used a frosting gun with a small star tip.

I made the dough into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter and baked them for 20 minutes. Much easier than cutting strips of dough and they don’t crumble. I added about 2 T of half and half just because I had it and thought it might make the dough more workable, but it really wasn’t necessary. Also added cayenne pepper to the dough rather than sprinkle it on afterwards. They were delicious and freeze well too.

This dish is so yuumy. We served it at your holiday party and many of our guests asked for the recipe.

These were alright. They tasted just like the cheese goldfish crackers. I didn't have to add any additional liquid like the other viewers mentioned. The dough is like course crumbs at first, but then I just kneaded it for 2-3 minutes in the bowl that I mixed it in. It came together enough to roll it out and cut into strips after that. Make sure not to overbake them, they burn quickly. This seems like a recipe that kids would really enjoy. I probably wont make these again (until I have kids):-)

Better than the recipe I grew up with. You do need to add a little extra milk to have them hold together, but just add a little at a time until it takes shape. Make sure your board and rolling pin are well floured. I sprinkle some of them with cayenne pepper for myself and leave the rest plain for the kids. These are NOT like goldfish crackers. If you have ever had cheese buns this tastes like the cheese that is baked on top. It is buttery and flaky and great for a snack or to dip in tomato soup.

The photo is of cheese straws done thru a cookie press with the 'star' tip...not as the recipe states "cut in strips'

The “dough” turned out very crumbly so I added 6Tbs cold water and then had to press it in my hands to make small ropes. Either the amounts listed are wrong or it needs more butter to hold it together. I was very disappointed.

I liked the taste of these very much, but I too had trouble getting it to glom together, but with the addition of an egg and some water it worked OK. I agree about leaving the butter out for a long time, but it is hard to cream butter without something gritty to work against. Maybe it would be easier with a food processor, but by hand it was pretty hard work.

These were ok. I guess not really my thing. They reminded me of goldfish crackers. Same taste and less work to get a bag of goldfish.

not my cup of tea

The only way this recipe works for me is if I soften butter in microwave, add all other ingredients and try to blend, then put back in microwave for about 30 seconds to get the cheese soft. Then mix thoroughly. We liked a lot of cayenne and black pepper!!!

These are really good and fun to make. We love to eat them dipped in soup or chili.

added milk and egg to moisten the dough, and cut out into star shapes. :) will make again.

From the reviews I was expecting something like goldfish crackers which would've been great for my kids, but thats not really what I got. They were good right after I made them, but weren't that great the next day. I did have to add a little water to get the dough to stick. i don't think I'll make these again. *Sorry*

Easy to make! I am a college student just learning to cook. Hard to roll out and cut (very crumbly), but they turned out great! They spread a little, but maybe that is just from using margarine instead of butter. They were impressive to serve to my friends, but inexpensive to make! Just what I was looking for!

These were delicious. I added the red pepper when I mixed the dough. I think they needed more heat and will add more next time. I omitted the salt and sprinkled them with sea salt before baking.

GREAT TASTE!!! Made bitesize because couldn't quite figure out the dimensions to cut the cheese strips in. Wonderful!!!

had to add egg and milk. needs some more flavor.

The final taste was good (I used smoked scamorza as cheese), but in my opinion the dough tasted too buttery. And it was almost impossible to work with it, I had to add a bit of milk to have it stick together. Don't think I'll do it again, sorry.

I made the recipe with the ingredients called for, but it wasn't doughy. I added 1/c warm water, about 1 Tbs oil, and some garlic salt for flavor. It was really good.

Super delicious! I skipped the pepper because a little does go a long way BUT I used about 25-40% pepper jack which adds a nice little kick and mixes well with the sharp cheddar. Thanks for a grate ?? recipe!

Easy. Fast. Taste good. I make recipes like this to use up stuff in the fridge so I made 1/4 the recipe. Used whole wheat flour instead of white. Added water until the dough would hold together. They came out great. Will make again and again.

The dough would not hold together so I added about 1/4 cup of milk. That worked and they were fine.

I followed the recipe, did what one of the reviewers suggested to shred cheese and then let it come to room temperature. Ditto for butter. Had no trouble with mixing, and the dough was the right consistency. Left it overnight in the fridge, thawed for a couple of hours. I rolled it out a bit at a time ( thanks to that reviewer) and could twist them too. Took 10 minutes at 375 in my oven.

Following the recipe, these came out entirely too breadlike. Could hardly taste the cheese. Not crunchy either.