Go Back
Print Recipe

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!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Bread Recipes

Equipment

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 see notes on GF option
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. You can freeze both the dough (add a couple minutes to baking time) or the baked cheese straws for later use.
  3. I strongly recommend using freshly-grated cheddar rather than the store-bought grated cheese (which has stabilizers in it which will impact the texture)
  4. I've recently tested these out gluten-free and they were amazing!  They're probably pretty flexible, I used half Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose GF, and half of their 1 to 1 Baking Mix.