Cheese straws

Twice now I’ve made these for friends’ open houses. They take a few minutes to make and are a big hit. The recipe is from Kevin Lee Jacobs–he has wonderful photos, too.  I use Dufour frozen pastry dough. I don’t know why Kevin calls these paillettes, but how can a French name be bad? Paille means straw in French, but pailletté means covered in sequins.  If you add sesame seeds, these are sequined straws.

Paillettes (Puff-pastry Cheese Straws)

Ingredients for about 30 cheese straws.
1 package (2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold
1/2 cup finely grated Asiago (I used cheddar)
1 cup finely grated Swiss or Gruyere
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Grinds of black pepper

You can add any of these: black or golden sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds; fresh or dried thyme; cayenne pepper, or whatever herb or seed appeals to you. And you can really use any cheese(s) you like. Continue reading “Cheese straws”