fun snacks.

Last evening, we had some friends over for noshy snacks before we went out for dinner. I made a batch of cheese straws from a recipe that Mom had sent me, and they came out so well that upon pulling them out of the oven, I grabbed the food processor, measuring cups and rolling pin and made a second batch. Which, as it turns out, was one batch too many. That's more for us.

For years, I've been making cheese straws from a recipe that Mom and Grandma both use with great success, which calls for running the dough through the star plate of a cookie press. The trouble is, my cookie press pretty much blows, where their old Mirro models (from probably the 50s or 60s) work marvelously.

This new recipe calls for rolling the dough into a rectangle, then using a pizza cutter to make long, thin strips. Which worked perfectly. This is my new go-to.

Cheese Straws
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse together: 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar, 1 cup of flour, 6 Tablespoons of cold butter, cut into pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a generous 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne. Add 1 1/2 Tablespoon of milk and pulse repeatedly until the dough forms a ball. (This takes more pulses than you think; I added another dribble of milk to help it along.)

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle that's 1/8 inch thick. Using the rolling pin as a straight-edge, take a pizza cutter and make 1/3-inch-wide strips; transfer strips to 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Bake about 17 minutes, switching position of sheets in the oven halfway through. The straws should be nicely golden. Let cool on baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack.