Homemade Southern Cheese Straws are an addictive snack that is so easy to make! This simple recipe is loaded with cheddar, zesty herbs and spices and a little cayenne kick for maximum snacking!
We love cheese & crackers here at The Cottage. Recipes like Jalapeno Pimento Cheese , Favorite Pimento Cheese Ball, and Apple Cider Cheese Fondue usually top our snack list. But the awesome thing about Cheese Straws is they combine our two favorites into one crazy good snack that is hard to put down! This old school southern recipe has it all- tender cracker crunch, salty cheese, loads of flavor and a tiny bit of heat. Whether it’s the holidays, a shower, cookout, tailgate or game night at home, these cheesy crisps will have everybody coming back for more!
What You Need to Make Southern Cheese Straws
- flour– all purpose flour is all you need
- baking powder– gives just a little rise to this very basic recipe
- chilled butter– a little fat to bind it all together
- sharp cheddar cheese– the star of the show, use a good quality cheese- everything depends on it! And, as always, it’s better if you grate your own.
- garlic powder & salt– for savory, salty yumminess
- paprika and dried parsley– for color
- cayenne– for heat
How to Make Old Fashioned Southern Cheese Straws
Using a food processor for this recipe makes prep as easy as pressing a button. Seriously, 30 seconds is about all it takes to mix up this simple dough of flour, butter, and cheese.
- Dry Ingredients- Pulse the dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, paprika, parsley, & cayenne- a couple of times in your food processor to mix.
- Wet Ingredients- Add your grated cheese and pulse to incorporate. Then, add in your chilled butter a couple of pats at a time until your dough starts to look like wet sand.
- Making the straws- Even though it’s crumbly, turn the dough out onto wax paper. Press the dough together to form a ball. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out flat, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into strips.
- Baking- Bake your cheese straws at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with extra salt & parsley and get ready to snack!
Cheese Straws make great gifts packaged up in little jars, holiday tins or cellophane bags with ribbon. They also make a great addition to a charcuterie board with your favorite fruits, nuts, meats, sweets and spreads. I can hardly resist settling in with my favorite glass of fizzy, a handful of these and a good book. As a matter of fact, anytime a little nibble of something is warranted, a good Southerner will tell you cheese straws are the thing to do!
Other Snack Recipes You’ll Love
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW!
RATE IT, LEAVE A COMMENT OR SNAP A PHOTO.
Southern Cheese Straws
Equipment
- food processor, wax paper
Ingredients
- 1 ½ C all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika (for color)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 C grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 stick butter, chilled
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats and set aside.
- Use a food processor to pulse the dry ingredients together. Add cheese and pulse until well mixed. Cut chilled butter into pats and add a few pats at a time, pulsing after each addition until well mixed. Dough is ready when all butter has been added and it resembles wet sand.
- Turn crumbly dough out onto a piece of wax paper. Use your hands to press dough together to form a dough ball. Section the dough into three pieces.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll out one section of the dough until it is ¼ inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut away all the rough sides so that your dough forms a rectangle with straight edges. Add cut away dough to one of the remaining dough balls. Use the pizza cutter to cut ½" X 3" strips of dough from the rectangle. Use a spatula to gently lift strips and place them on your baking sheets. They can be close together, but don't need to touch. Repeat until all dough has been cut into strips and placed on baking sheets.
- Bake cheese straws in preheated oven for 15 minutes or just until they begin to brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with extra parsley and salt while still warm. Let cool before serving.
Homemade Southern Cheese Straws are an addictive snack that is so easy to make! This simple recipe is loaded with cheddar, zesty herbs and spices and a little cayenne kick for maximum snacking!
Quick question – if I’m preparing these to gift during the holidays, do they keep okay in plastic bags? frozen? in jars? I’m trying to figure out how to get everything baked ahead of time so I can deliver as we see folks, vs trying to do it all in one or two days.
Hi, Holly! That is a great question, and I am going to add that to the post! These cheese straws should keep for up to a week kept at room temp in an air tight container. So, I would recommend (if you aren’t giving them in a tin or a jar in which they completely fit with the lid on) storing them in a zip top bag or other container on your counter or in your pantry and then packaging them for giving when the time comes. Love the idea of having it all prepared ahead of time! So good!
Can these be made without using a food processor?
Hi, Debbie! A blender would work also. You might try a pastry cutter, but I have the best luck getting that perfect sand texture with either the blender or food processor.
We liked the straws, but the dough was VERY crumbly. I spritzed the dough with some water to help, but would you have a better suggestion to get the dough to stick together enough to roll out? I weighed the flour and used 192 g. That is the only variable I can think of.
Hi, Karen! I am so glad you liked these cheese straws! We love their “cheez it” like flavor. Grating your own cheese definitely helps the dough stick together. Packaged pre shredded cheese is coated with a starch meant to keep the shreds from sticking together- the opposite of what we need to happen in this recipe! Also, weighing the flour is perfect. It is the most accurate way to get an exact measurement. 1.5 cups of all purpose flour measures out to 188g. So a little less flour would help also. Spritzing with water was a great troubleshoot in a pinch.
what is as tick of butter? How much is that?
Hi, Beata! A stick of butter = 1/2 C butter. Hope that helps! Enjoy!