Cheese Straws And Wafers Recipes

CHEESE WAFERS OR STRAWS

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in mixing bowl. With fingers, work half the butter into the flour until it resembles damp, crumbly sand. Add the remaining cold butter chunks and the cheese and stir with a fork to distribute. Stir in milk and quickly gather dough into a ball with floured hands. (There should be visible butter chunks in the dough.) Squash dough into a rough rectangle about 1 inch thick.
• Dust dough with flour and roll to a long rectangle about 8 by 14 inches and about 1/2-inch thick, with the longer side facing you. Fold dough into thirds: first fold in right side, then left side on top of it, making a nearly square package three layers high. Dust again with flour and roll out to make same size rectangle, then fold it again. Dust and repeat once more. Wrap well in plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day in advance.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut dough in half. Refrigerate half the dough and roll the other piece out to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. (Do not roll too thin or pastry will not puff.) To make wafers, cut dough into 2-inch rounds with a sharp cookie cutter (or cut into diamonds with a knife). To make straws, cut dough in strips 1/2-inch by 5 inches. Twist strips 2 or 3 times and press down ends to prevent unfurling.
• Place wafers or straws on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Paint lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt. Add sprinklings of cumin seed, black pepper, rosemary or smoked paprika if desired, and a little more grated cheese. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until well browned and crisp. Let cool before serving. Repeat process with remaining half of dough.
• Note: To make heart-shaped palmiers, cut dough in half as above. Working with one dough half (and refrigerating the other), roll dough to a rectangle about 12 by 8 inches and 1/8-inch thick, with the longer side facing you. Paint entire sheet of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with cheese. Tightly roll each of the long edges toward the center so you have a long, somewhat narrow log consisting of 2 connected side-by-side cylinders. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Pinch the round side of each slice to form a heart shape. Flatten each heart-shaped slice with rolling pin and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Dab each heart with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until well browned.

CHEESE STRAWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Put the softened cheese and butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer. Using the heaviest mixer paddle attachment, beat until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream, 15 to 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, sift 3 cups of the flour with the salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Gradually add the seasoned flour to the cheese mixture by large spoonfuls, beating well after each addition. Add the remaining 1 cup unseasoned flour incrementally until the dough is somewhat stiff but still soft enough to be pushed through a cookie press; you may not need to add all the flour.
• Lightly spray 4 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Put a portion of the dough into a cookie press fitted with the star tube and press the dough onto a cookie sheet in long strips that run the length of the pan. Repeat until the pan is full. Bake until straws are golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.
• With your hands or a sharp knife, break or cut the long strips into 3-inch lengths. Use a flat, thin spatula or an egg turner to remove the cheese strips from the pan. Allow them to cool on a wire rack. When they are completely cool, serve or store in a tightly covered container.

CHEESE WAFERS

Steps:

• In a medium size mixing bowl, blend together butter or margarine and flour. Mix in the Cheddar cheese, salt, red pepper, hot pepper sauce, and pecans. Form the dough into a roll, wrap in parchment paper, and refrigerate over night.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Slice dough into very thin wafers. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crisp.

CHEESE WAFERS (STRAWS, COOKIES)

Steps:

• Blend softened butter with grated cheese.
• Add salt, garlic powder, cayenne powder and worcestershire.
• Stir in flour and rice krispies.
• For wafers: Form by hand into balls and flatten with fork.
• For straws: Flatten pieces of dough by hand on parchment paper and cut into 4 x 6 inch straws and separate.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in a 325 degree oven for 17 minutes. Watch carefully and do not overbake. Let cool slightly and place on paper towels. Store in an air tight container.

CHEESE STRAWS AND WAFERS

Steps:

• Cream cheese and margarine; add flour and Rice Krispies.
• For Cheese Straws, roll out on floured cloth; cut in 2 1/2 x 1/2-inch sticks.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
• For Cheese Wafers: Form into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet; mash lightly with fork.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees.