Puff pastry cheese straws (video)

Puff pastry cheese straws are a great appetizer. Easy and quick to make, they will be gone in a couple of minutes. You only need 4 ingredients! This is a hit at any party!

You can serve them as an appetizer/snack to eat on their own or as a side to a soup, like this pumpkin ginger soup with orange or carrot coconut soup.

Ingredients/substitutions – what you’ll need to make this puff pastry appetizer:

• Puff pastry – Puff pastry sheets may vary in size so adjust the cheese amount to your pastry sheet. You can just eyeball the amount. The puff pastry sheet should be covered with a thin layer of grated cheese. If using frozen puff pastry you need to thaw it first. It’s best to thaw it overnight in the fridge and not quickly on the counter (it could break).
• Herbs – you can use either your favorite fresh herbs or dried herbs. I’m most often using French (Herbes de Provence) or Italian seasoning. I like them both very much.
• Cheese – I like to use Parmesan cheese. For the best flavor grate it yourself on the small holes of a box grater (don’t use the microplane). Other types of cheese will also work (like cheddar or Swiss cheese).
• An egg for egg wash. That’s it!

You could also make this sweet instead of savory but spreading some nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread) over puff pastry!

How to make cheese straws step by step:

STEP 1: Brush the puff pastry with beaten egg.

STEP 2: Sprinkle with herbs.

STEP 3: Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Press the cheese into the dough.

STEP 4: Cut the dough into strips (a pizza cutter works great).

STEP 5: Twist the ends of each strip into opposite directions until dough is spiraled. The cheese layer should be facing inward and the plain side facing outward on the twist.

STEP 6: Brush the straws again with the beaten egg and bake.

Top tips on how to work with puff pastry:

• Keep the dough cold all the time, if you notice that the dough is sticky or not easy to handle put it quickly in the fridge for 10 mins. It’s good to keep the dough with the baking paper on a large chopping board – you can easily transfer it to the fridge. Take the dough out of the fridge only when you have all the ingredients prepared and you’re ready to begin, don’t make the pastries around the radiator.
• Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour on both sides so it won’t stick to your working surface.
• Baking temperature: I find that the best method for baking puff pastry is starting at a high temperature, eg 400°F/200°C – it gives a little push to the dough so it puffs nicely, then you need to lower the temperature to 325°F/160°C to allow the dough to cook through without burning on the outside.
• Palm oil/shortening puff pastry vs butter puff pastry: I encourage you to buy all-butter puff pastry. Not only because it’s healthier but also because it just tastes so much better. Unfortunately, this dough is a little bit harder to handle (both store-bought dough and homemade all-butter puff pastry dough). It will be quicker warm and more sticky. As mentioned above, the key to success is to keep the dough cool all the time, sprinkle it with flour, and pop in the fridge for 10 mins before twisting the strips.

Storage and freezing:

• Storage tips: These puff pastry straws taste best 1-2 hours after baking. After this time they won’t be so crunchy.
• How to make them ahead: You can make them ahead and store in the fridge, wrapped in plastic foil, then bake just before serving.
• Can you freeze baked cheese straws: baked cheese straws cannot be frozen.

My other puff pastry appetizers:

• puff pastry strudel with vegetables and cheese
• puff pastry pinwheels with sun-dried tomatoes, olives and cheese
• asparagus in puff pastry with cheese and ham
• puff pastry pizza bites

Here you can find all my puff pastry appetizers.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!

Puff pastry cheese straws

Easy to make puff pastry snack, these straws will be gone in a couple of minutes. You only need 4 ingredients! I like to serve them plain as an appetizer or as an addition to a soup.

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5 from 4 votes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes minutes

Total Time 39 minutes minutes

Servings 13 straws

Calories 142kcal

Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 sheet puff pastry 10 oz/280g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried herbs Italian or French seasoning
• ▢ 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2.8oz/80g
• ▢ 1 egg + 1 Tbsp milk or water

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Instructions

• Prepare all the ingredients before taking the dough out of the fridge. Make the egg wash: whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of milk or water. Grate the cheese.
• The dough should be about the thickness of 2mm / between 1/8-1/16 inch. I didn't have to roll out my store-bought puff pastry but if you're using homemade puff pastry, roll it out to this thickness. Place the puff pastry sheet on a piece of baking paper (the paper that comes along with the puff pastry works fine). Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour on both sides.
• Brush the puff pastry sheet with the egg wash.
• Sprinkle the puff pastry sheet with dried herbs, then with grated Parmesan cheese. Press the cheese in with your hands so that it sticks to the dough.
• Cut the dough into 2.5cm / 1-inch strips (pizza knife works great).
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas Mark 6, no fan (if you have a convection oven reduce the temperature by about 20°).
• Place the dough in the fridge for 10 mins (it's good to place the dough on a big chopping board so it's easier to transfer it to the fridge). This will make twisting the dough easier.
• Twist the ends of each strip into opposite directions until dough is spiraled. The cheese layer should be facing inward and the plain side facing outward on the twist. The straws should be placed a little apart on the baking paper (the dough will increase its volume). Brush the straws with the egg wash.
• Bake for 12 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 325°F/160°C / Gas Mark 3 and bake for about 12 minutes until golden. Keep an eye on the straws at the end of the baking time to make sure that they don't brown too much. Baking time may vary depending on the oven.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Puff pastry sheets may vary in size so adjust the cheese amount to your pastry sheet. You can just eyeball the amount. The puff pastry sheet should be covered with a thin layer of grated cheese.
• If using frozen puff pastry you need to thaw it first. It’s best to thaw it overnight in the fridge and not quickly on the counter (it could break).
• The most important thing: Keep the dough cold all the time, if you notice that the dough is sticky or not easy to handle put it quickly in the fridge for 10 mins.
• You can use other types of cheese like pecorino, cheddar, or Swiss cheese.
• These puff pastry straws taste best 1-2 hours after baking. After this time they won’t be so crunchy. You can make them ahead and store in the fridge, wrapped in plastic foil, then bake just before serving. Baked cheese straws can’t be frozen.
• Calories count = 1 straw (this is only an estimate).

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine international

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