cheese straws

[SoftFroggie]

Ok, so I'm a baking / cooking klutz, but I do try to do things with DS, who like savory things.

Can someone kindly post a fool-proof recipe for cheese straws (or cheesy biscuits) that I could make with him, esp that I could roll out and use cookie cutters on for fun shapes?

He likes surprisingly strong tastes, so suggestions for jazzing it up? mustard? etc..

Many thanks

Sorry if done before - I did search.

Cheese Straws

4oz plain white flour
2oz diced butter
3oz mild Cheddar
1 egg, beaten
i extra egg yolk

Put the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese then the egg yolk, plus one tablespoon of the beaten egg to bind the dough. Bring the dough together with your hands.

Knead lightly on a floured surface, then roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut into strips half an inch wide x 2" long, brush with the remaining egg, and place the straws slightly apart on a baking sheet.

Bake at 200C for 8 - 10 minutes or until golden. Leave on the baking sheets until they are cool.

Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container, or will freeze for up to 6 weeks

(You can use the same recipe to cut out shapes from as well).

you can sprinkle about 1tsp of paprika in the mixture to jazz it up a bit

Another way is to use ready-made puff pastry. Mix up one egg, a little yeast extract and a couple of teaspoons tomato ketchup, roll out the pastry, cut into strips, and spread the strips with the egg mixture. Bake as before, then loosen the strips before allowing them to cool on the baking sheet.