Crispy, crunchy cheese straws are very common snacks to have with drinks as well as with a hot cup of coffee here in Europe. They are readily available in each and every super markets here.

After making Cherry tomato & poppy seed tartlets I had some extra Cheddar cheese left in my refrigerator. Since then I was little worried about how to utilise it as it could be no longer edible if I leave it for a long time. Again started searching for a simple recipe in my baking book and ended up with this simplest one. Hope you will like it. Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients for 17 pieces :

1. Self raising flour – 115 gm. + extra for dusting
2. Curry powder – 1 teaspoon
3. Pinch of salt
4. Butter – 65 gm. + extra for greasing
5. Grated cheddar cheese – 65 gm.
6. Egg, beaten – 2
7. Poppy and cumin seeds for sprinkling

Procedure :

Sift the flour, salt and curry powder into a bowl.

Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the cheese and one egg and mix to form a dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Lightly grease two baking sheets with butter.

On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 5 mm. (¼ inch) thick and 15 x 17 cm. (6 x 6.7 inch) rectangle.

Cut into 15 x 1 cm. (6 x ½ inch) strips. Twist the strips slightly along its length and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Brush the straws with the remaining egg and sprinkle half with poppy seeds and half with cumin seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven, 200ºC / 400ºF, for 10 – 15 minutes, or until golden.

Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of beer . 😉

Note :

1. If you are using plain flour, then adda ½ teaspoon of baking powder into it.
2. You can lengthen or shorten the size of the straw according to your preference. Just roll out the dough to 5 mm. (¼ inch) thick.