These lil babies are a surprising treat for the person who bites into them.

My mom has been making them for quite some time – but those times were far and few in between. As I was perusing the Family Cookbook, I came across the recipe and remembered how tasty they were.

They are really like a spicy cheese cracker. You can make them into any shape you like – I like to keep them in a narrow triangle shape.

You are also supposed to put some seeds on top before baking. But I had forgotten to get them at the store. So I went naked with my cheese straws. No cheese straws were harmed – they still came out delicious.

You don’t need to provide any dip or cheese to accompany these crackers. They are good enough on their own 🙂 Of course if you want to dip, be my guest!

Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws

Ingredients:

• 1 10-oz block Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1.5 cups flour
• ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
• 1tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp dried crushed pepper
• 2 tblsp half-n-half
• Seed mixture (see below)

Directions:

Pulse the first 5 ingredients in a food processor at 5-second interval until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add half-n-half and pulse 10 more seconds or until dough forms a ball.  (Note –dough may be wrapped in plastic wrap or Ziploc bag and chilled up to 3 days)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare dough and divide in half. Roll each half into a 9-10 inch round. Transfer rounds to parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Whisk together 1 egg white and 1 tsp water just until foamy. Stir together ¼ cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup roasted sunflower kernels, 2 tblsp toasted sesame seeds, and 2 tblsp black sesame seeds. Brush rounds with egg white mixture and sprinkle with seed mixture.

Cut each round into wedges of random sizes, using a fluted pastry wheel. Separate wedges about 1 inch apart. Bake 16-18 minutes, cool on baking sheets on wire racks, 30 minutes.

Makes 24-32 triangles

Tags: appetizer, cheese, cracker, Snack