Cheese Straws

On a lazy weekend afternoon with the sunlight streaming into my window just the way I liked it, I sat on my couch flipping through the pages of my latest read - The woman in white by Wilkie Collins.

[Wilkie Collins is a popular English Novelist and is the author of several English Novels published in the mid 1800s. His stories are mostly real life experiences with mind gripping matters. The Woman in White is one such book that kept me engrossed all weekend and it has a very interesting ending which I am yet to cover]

To satiate my desire of munching savouries while the novel reaches its climax, I put down my book and hit the kitchen to spend the next one hour trying out a bookmarked starter recipe called the Cheese Straws.

The name is quite fancy and so are the Straws that manage to attain a fanciful look. All its ingredients are sure to dwell in the refrigerator of a normal household. There is not much of work invloved in it. Just some dough kneading,shaping the straws and baking them. The final straws were ready to be munched in an hour's time all fresh and crunchy from the oven. A good snack for the evening too.

So the next time you host a tea party, this is sure to be a grand success. It is ridiculously simple and tastes crunchy and fantastic.

The recipe for the Cheese Straws

INGREDIENTS:

120 gms All purpose flour

30 gms grated Cheese (I used Cheddar Cheese)

A pinch of Mustard powder

Salt to taste

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp red pepper/chilli flakes

30 ml water

60 gms butter

1 tbsp dried Parsley/other herbs finely chopped

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Sieve together flour, mustard, salt and red pepper. 

2)  Rub in the butter till misture resembles bread crumbs.

3)  Add grated cheese, egg yolks, water and mix to a stiff dough with a fork adding a little more water if necessary.

4) Roll the dough to about 1/8" thickness and cut into long thin strips.

5) Give a twist to each strip and put in a baking tray.

6) Bake at 200 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven  for 10-15 minutes or till very light browned.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

** Straws can be made in any shape you desire. They can be twisted or circled using a piping bag or can be just cut using a knife.