So I don’t totally know what to call these, so have landed on unleavened cheese straws. But as you can see, they’re not straws exactly. Cheese…fingers doesn’t exactly sound as delicious. And they ARE delicious!
Every year I like to try out at least one new unleavened bread recipe for the Passover season, and I’m pretty excited about this one.
My usual disclaimer: I keep the Days of Unleavened Bread (the week following Passover) as laid out in the bible, so I avoid leavening (sometimes called a rising agent). This can be things like yeast, baking powder, etc. (definition here). My understanding is that some Jewish people (particularly Orthodox Jews) may keep these days differently and also avoid flour and certain grains. I can’t speak to that in any way, and only you know how you keep the Days of Unleavened Bread. So please don’t send me angry comments, you have been warned 🙂
Okay, back to our cheesy biscuits. Now, the “spicy” part is up to you…the first time I had these, they really had a kick! It had a bit more cayenne than my taste buds prefer, so when I make them I back off of that.
I’ve also added some smoked paprika for depth and a bit of heat. I feel like you could experiment with different spices or herbs in these cheese straws depending on your mood.
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These do take a pretty crazy amount of cheese, and you want to go with a nice sharp cheddar for lots of flavor (and less moisture). And here’s the key—if at all possible, grate it yourself rather than buying grated cheese at the store (which has stabilizers that mess with the texture).
If I were doing this on a box grater this would be so annoying (I’m WAY too lazy), but I used my cheese mill/grater, which has a turn handle and is so much easier.
Speaking of easy, you can freeze these cheese straws, either before baking or after…this is handy since it makes a ton. To do it before, go ahead and cut the dough into pieces, lay on a baking tray (with parchment) and freeze for an hour or so, then you can transfer to a ziploc. Bake for a few minutes longer from frozen.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix the softened butter, shredded cheese, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, and rosemary together until creamy.
Add the flour and mix until just combined. It will be crumbly and that’s okay! It should hold together if you squeeze a bit of it between your fingers.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes (I keep it in the bowl and just tuck the plastic wrap over the top of the dough).
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Roll the dough fairly thin (like 1/4-1/2 inch, not wafer thin) and cut into thin strips of your desired length. I love my thin bamboo rolling pin, it gives me a lot of control and makes things easier.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They will spread a tiny bit so leave a bit of space between. I use my scraper tool to both cut and move the dough, for ease.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until light brown and set. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.
These are great as leftovers over a number of days, but you can also freeze both the dough before baking (add a couple minutes to baking time) or the baked cheese straws for later use.
Lately I’ve been grabbing two or three frozen cheese straws out and baking them fresh in the morning as a snack…it’s perfect portion control, and always better fresh than leftover!!
Other unleavened treats you’ll enjoy:
- Cottage Cheese Rolls (my family’s O.G. unleavened bread)
- Simple Rosemary Unleavened Bread
- Savory Parmesan Rosemary Shortbread (Unleavened)
- Churro Popovers
- Jam Diagonals
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Unleavened Spicy Cheese Straws
These tasty & fun unleavened cheese straws are a great treat for the Days of Unleavened Bread (Passover), and a great appetizer any time of year!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 lb of sharp cheddar cheese, grated (fresh is better than pre-grated if possible)
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- Optional: minced fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix the softened butter, shredded cheese, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, and rosemary together until creamy.
- Add the flour and mix until just combined. It will be crumbly and that's okay! It should hold together if you squeeze a bit of it between your fingers.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes (I keep it in the bowl and just tuck the plastic wrap over the top of the dough).
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Roll the dough fairly thin (like 1/4-1/2 inch, not wafer thin) and cut into thin strips of your desired length. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They will spread a tiny bit so leave a bit of space between. I use my scraper tool to both cut and move the dough, for ease.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until light brown and set. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.
Notes
- The amounts of cayenne and smoked paprika are on the very low end of "spicy", so if you want them to have a real kick I recommend increasing those amounts.
- You can freeze both the dough (add a couple minutes to baking time) or the baked cheese straws for later use.
- I strongly recommend using freshly-grated cheddar rather than the store-bought grated cheese (which has stabilizers in it which will impact the texture)
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